Verde the Star Warrior: The Crimson Knight
by AuthorOfTheUniverse2401
Summary: In just a few weeks' time, Verde will become a fully-fledged knight of Dreamland. He's learned all his lessons. He's passed all the tests. Only three things stand in his way: the girl of his dreams, a new enemy that's out for his blood, and his own uncertainty towards the future.
1. A Party to Remember

Chapter 1: A Party to Remember

Verde was a nervous wreck. His graduation was in several weeks' time, and what was he doing? Not preparing for the ceremony like he should be, but getting dragged along to another one of the King's parties.

Aside from his immense greed, his unending hunger that was rivaled only by Kirby's, and his skill with the hammer, King Dedede was known best for his huge blowout parties that he held for the entire castle staff and himself from time to time. Located in the castle's vast ballroom, there was dancing, two all-you-can-eat buffets (they needed two of them because the King always consumed all the food in one of the buffets within the first fifteen minutes), and a bar that served every drink imaginable. The gates to the castle were thrown open, allowing anybody in Cappy Town that could fit in the castle.

The first time Meta Knight took him to one of these parties (the King made a point that Meta Knight was required to go to these parties, and Meta Knight wasn't exactly keen on going to them alone), Verde was filled with wonder at how people's cares and worries were forgotten in the extravagance of the festivities. Verde asked Meta Knight what these parties were for.

"Officially, they are for the celebration of the castle staff's hard work," his mentor told him. "However, I believe that it is just an excuse for the King to get himself sick eating all of the food."

Verde thought that Meta Knight was joking, but when he looked into his mentor's intelligent yellow eyes, shining from behind his mask, they were grim and taciturn as ever.

Verde came to enjoy these parties, and under normal circumstances, he probably would have enjoyed the one going on right now. But, overcome with pressure as he was, Verde could not find it in him to have fun at this party.

Meta Knight, aware of just about everything going on around him, looked at his apprentice, barely twenty-one years old, and smiled to himself. _He is going to be somebody someday_ , Meta Knight thought to himself.

"Cheer up," Meta Knight told his star pupil. "Graduation is not for several weeks yet. Rather than worry about future events that are out of your control, why don't you celebrate tonight. Studies show that relaxing before a big, stress-causing event can reduce stress."

"Right, because this –" Verde indicated the loud, fast music and the bright strobe lights invading the dance floor, "– is relaxing."

Meta Knight scratched his head. "You have a point. Tell you what, just do what I do at these parties."

"And what would that be?" Verde asked.

His mentor looked at him. "Do not dance and simply observe."

Verde tilted his head. "Why don't you dance?"

"I do not dance," Meta Knight stated, and he walked away to show that the conversation was done.

Verde decided to do as Meta Knight said. After all, it would be foolish not to take advice from Meta Knight.

Verde sat down at the bar and ordered his favorite drink, ("Coffee please, with plenty of sugar and just enough cream," he told the bartender – Verde never consumed alcohol if he could help it) and turned around to observe the festivities. King Dedede was inhaling one of the all-you-can-eat buffets, as usual. A Waddle Dee was sitting at the bar a few seats down from him, enjoying his drink. Meta Knight was standing at a table to his left, looking around at the various dancers. Plasma Wisp was doing well at being a DJ (the King really couldn't find anyone else willing to be a DJ). A Star Warrior was sitting at a table across the room –

Verde nearly choked on his coffee. He stopped looking around and set his gaze on this Star Warrior. Her magenta skin stuck out from the overall darkness of the ballroom. A pink rose sat on her head. Her pink cape hung on her back. Light pink eyes stared at the dance floor, and her mitten-covered hands were crossed. _What fools_ , her expression seemed to say.

Verde took his coffee and hurried over to Meta Knight's table. Without even pausing to catch his breath, Verde asked Meta Knight, "Who is that sitting across the ballroom over there?"

Meta Knight was taken aback at Verde's sudden appearance. "Apparently, young people do not even say hello when they greet someone anymore."

Verde repeated his question.

"That's my other apprentice. Remember? I told you I had another apprentice some time ago," Meta Knight explained.

Verde did remember Meta Knight saying something about another apprentice a few years back. His mentor explained that they were trained separately because it was easier to teach one student at a time than both at once. Verde asked why this was at one point, and Meta Knight simply responded that one headache was easier to deal with than two. To this day, Verde still didn't know if Meta Knight was joking or not.

"You never told me she was a girl." Verde stated simply.

Meta Knight quickly looked at Verde. "She usually does not come to these parties. Rather strange that she is here," Meta Knight said to himself.

"What's her name?" Verde asked Meta Knight.

"Why don't you go ask her?" Meta Knight told his apprentice.

Verde froze. Ask her what her name is? That was unthinkable. It would mean talking to her, and Verde could not handle that.

"Are you scared of her?" Meta Knight inquired

"Scared? Of her? Of course I'm not scared of her! I helped defeat a platoon of Nightmare's army! I'm not scared of a simple girl!" Verde said so fast that Meta Knight could barely tell what he was saying.

Meta Knight smiled to himself once again. Young people could be so foolish sometimes. "Remember what I taught you: the best way to conquer your fears is to face them head on."

Verde decided that Meta Knight did have a point. He wasn't going to die if he introduced himself to a girl. The worst that could happen is that she breaks his heart. Well, when he put it like that, Verde was just making it worse.

That's it, no more thinking about it, just go! Verde made his way around the dance floor. People bumped and jostled him as they moved about on the edge of the crowd, but Verde kept his eyes on the girl as he drew ever nearer to her. Before he knew it, he was right next to her table. She was still watching the dance floor.

Verde took a seat across from the female Star Warrior. She was still focused on the dance floor. Verde also decided to watch the dance floor. He wasn't exactly sure why the dancers were so interesting to her. He decided to say something, but what? For once in his life, he couldn't think of anything sarcastic to say. Every possible outcome that went through his head resulted in making himself look progressively more stupid. _Really? Now's the time when I run out of things to say?_ he thought to himself. _Why am I so –_

"Are you going to continue to sit there in silence?"

Verde started at the sound of a female voice. He looked across the table at the Star Warrior. She was still watching the dance floor.

"I didn't know you noticed me arrive!" said Verde, the surprise obvious in his voice.

"I notice just about everything that happens around me," she said, and now she did look away from the dance floor to look at Verde. Her light pink eyes were filled with intelligence, as if she were thinking a million things at once. "And to whom do I owe the pleasure of speaking with?" she asked.

"Verde. Verde the Star Warrior," he said, holding out his hand.

She tilted her head as she shook his hand. Her touch sent shock waves up his arm and down his back. "No last name?"

"My parents got rid of their last names to make it harder to track them. You see, they made a lot of enemies." _Too many enemies_ , Verde thought to himself, remembering how his parents met their end: by the blades of two assassins that worked for the Galacta Knight Clan, sworn enemies to Meta Knight.

"I'm Rosa Stargazer," the girl said. "Hey, I've heard of you! You're Meta Knight's other apprentice, the one who participated in the battle with Nightmare's army some time ago."

"That's right," Verde said. "Turns out giant stag beetles aren't as bad as you would think. People exaggerate everything."

"You're a real swashbuckler, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Verde responded in a mock pompous attitude.

"Modest, too," Rosa said, and they both laughed. Things were going a lot better than Verde had expected.

"Mind if I ask a question?" Verde asked.

Rosa smiled. "I believe you just did."

This girl was beginning to remind Verde a lot of Meta Knight. "Why are you watching the dance floor instead of dancing?"

"I don't dance," Rosa explained.

"You're not the only one," Verde said, glancing in Meta Knight's general direction. "You know, I think this is the first time I've seen you attend one of these parties. Why is that?"

"I don't usually enjoy these parties. Seeing people make fools of themselves like this, it's just not my thing. I came today because I'm horribly nervous," she explained.

"Nervous? About what?" Verde wanted to know.

She turned back to the dance floor. "Graduation," was all she said.

"Me, too! I haven't been able to sleep at all because I'm so nervous," he said excitedly.

Rosa looked at Verde then, a look of shock in her eyes. "What do you have to be nervous about? You're Verde the Star Warrior, the guy who took on one of Nightmare's strongest monsters! You're going to do great!"

"It's not just graduation I'm nervous about! It's becoming a full-fledged knight of Dreamland that I'm nervous about."

"Why is that?" she asked.

Verde hesitated before answering. "When you become a knight, everyone looks up to you. They think that you can do no wrong and that you are their savior. They would follow you off a cliff because they trust you so blindly. That makes it all the more crushing when you hit rock bottom."

Rosa wasn't quite sure what to say to this. They sat in silence for some time, the only thing penetrating their consciousness being the huge lights and loud music.

Finally, Rosa did say something. "When Meta Knight was teaching me, I made at least a hundred mistakes. But I didn't dwell on them for long. I learned from my mistakes so that I wouldn't repeat them. That was probably the most important thing I learned from Meta Knight."

Verde pondered this. She was right of course. Meta Knight had taught him that. His nervousness probably made him forget it, but now he remembered it. He was glad he had talked with this girl.

"Anyway, I'm getting tired. I'm going to bed," Rosa said.

"Wait!" Verde shouted, jumping out of his seat and running after her, only to stumble and fall flat on his face. _Idiot_ he thought.

He looked up. Rosa didn't even bat an eyelash. "Yes?"

Verde swallowed his fear and said, "Would you like to get a meal sometime?"

Rosa smiled then, a half smile that could only be seen on one side of her face. "Are you asking me out on a date, Verde the Star Warrior?" she asked.

Verde didn't answer.

"How's tomorrow night sound to you?" she wanted to know.

Verde was absolutely ecstatic. "Great! Tomorrow night's great!"

She smiled even bigger. Her teeth were as white as pearls. "Then it's a date. Here." She took a napkin and a pen from a nearby table and wrote something down on it. She left the napkin on the table. "This is the room number for my apartment in the castle's residential quarters. Be there at seven-thirty sharp." She made that half-smile again. "See you then, Swashbuckler." She walked away then, right out the door. She turned back at one point and smiled again, then she continued on her way, a sea of calm.

Verde could not say the same for himself. His heart was beating so fast as he got up, he thought he might have a heart attack.

"I take it that it went well?" said a familiar voice from behind him.

Meta Knight was right behind him. Verde hadn't even heard him walk up. Then again, the music was rather loud.

Verde turned back to the magenta figure at the end of the hallway. "Yes," he said, smiling. "Yes it did."


	2. Any Three Questions

Chapter 2: A Date That Will Live in Infamy

A red figure walked through the moonlit streets of Cappy Town. By all appearances, the man was unthreatening. In fact, in the uncertain light, the man probably would have been mistaken for Meta Knight, who the townspeople were familiar with. But, upon closer inspection, one would have noticed that, although he wore a cape and a mask like Meta Knight, the man would not have looked familiar to anyone in town. He did not carry a sword, but rather a broad, bright-red lance on his side. Strapped to his back on top of his dark red cape was a red shield, which bore a bronze, four-pronged star, rather like a plus sign. He had a similar shape on his mask for his eyehole. If anyone were to look into the man's eyes through his mask, they would have seen angry red eyes glowing like hot coals.

Few people walked the streets of Cappy Town at night, but those who did were used to making people nervous. When they looked at this red figure, he made them nervous. The red man liked it that way. People who were nervous of you didn't bother you or ask questions about what brings you out to the streets at the dead of night. Which was good, because what brought the man out to the streets at the dead of night was not entirely legal.

The man came to a building in the outskirts of town. While some may have called this building shabby, it was a five-star hotel compared to some of the buildings around it. The building may have been a brilliant violet at some point, but now the paint was faded and peeling in some places. A large sign on the roof said "Mag's Magic Emporium" in yellowing letters. Underneath the sign in smaller letters was written: "Solving all of your problems with the magic of…magic!" For all intents and purposes, the building was a simple magic shop that conned innocent folk with false spells and useless trinkets. However, every once in a while, a shady person could come to this shop and get help to do something not entirely legal, for a price.

That was exactly what the red man had come to do tonight.

Line Break

"Hold still," Meta Knight told Verde as he straightened the green bowtie.

"But this thing is seriously uncomfortable," Verde complained.

"Ties are supposed to be uncomfortable," Meta Knight explained. "There, that should do it."

Verde looked at himself in the mirror. His green fedora hat was cool-looking, and so was his bowtie, but he didn't feel all that cool. For one thing, his bowtie kept itching him. He also felt that he was going to make a fool of himself tonight.

"You look like you are going to win love," Meta Knight said.

"I'm not so sure," Verde said. "I don't even know what to say when we sit down to eat. What would you say?"

Meta Knight sat down and pondered this question.

"Oh, no," Verde said.

"What?" Meta Knight asked.

"Meta Knight, when's the last time you've been on a date?"

Meta Knight pondered this for an even longer time. Finally, he said "I've lost count of the years."

"Great. I'm doomed," Verde said. "I might as well not go."

Meta Knight's eyes flared with determination. "You are going on that date and that is final!" He began pushing Verde out of the door.

"Why are you forcing me out the door?" Verde asked. "And are you kicking me out of my own home?"

"Because I do not want you to grow up to be a crusty old bachelor like me!" Meta Knight responded. "And yes, yes I am!"

Meta Knight finally pushed Verde into the hallway, slamming the door in his face. Meta Knight pulled the door open again. "You forgot this." Meta Knight handed Verde a pink rose. "Oh, and in case you wanted to know, you have exactly one minute to get from here to the other side of the castle's residential quarters to get your date. Good luck." Meta Knight slammed the door again. Verde looked at the clock in the hallway. 7:29. Verde began running as fast as he could towards Rosa's apartment.

Line Break

The red man walked up to the front door of Mag's Magic Emporium. It was time to put his plan into action. He held out his mitten-covered hand and pushed open the door.

The dark nighttime street was flooded with bright lights flashing from inside. Amulets glowed, charms sparkled, and all sorts of other trinkets flashed light in the red man's face. His eyes, still used to the relative darkness of the moonlit streets, flared with pain, and he had to squint to see clearly.

Just then, a puff of purple smoke appeared in front of the red man. When it cleared, a small man was standing in the door frame…well, he would be if he had any feet. In fact, the man had no legs, and his body was suspended in midair. His hands floated in front of him, not supported by anything. Large, yellow eyes shined on the man's face. A blue hood with ear-like stubs pointing out on top covered the top of his head. A white collar, supporting a flowing white cape, covered the rest of his face.

The small man spread his hands out wide to indicate the entire store. "Welcome, my friend, to Mag's Magic Emporium! I'm the owner, Mag, and I'm here to–"

Mag was cut off, almost literally, when the point of the red man's broad lance suddenly appeared right between his eyes. "Cut the crap, little man," the red man said in a gruff, irritated voice. "I know who you are, and I know what you do. Now just help me, like I asked you to do in my message."

Mag's eyes grew darker as he realized that this was no ordinary customer. Suddenly, he was no longer Mag, the charismatic con man, but Magolor, self-crowned king of the multiverse with a thirst for vengeance. "Ah, yes. You're the one from the Galacta Knight clan. I remember the message your colleagues sent me." Magolor turned around, beckoning the red man inside. "Come in, come in."

The red man sheathed his lance and followed the sorcerer to the back of the room. At the back of the room, next to the stage with the book of spells on the pedestal, was the only bare wall in the entire store. Magolor tapped a certain spot on the wall in a particular pattern. The wall vanished to reveal a secret room. They both stepped inside, and the wall reappeared behind them.

Line Break

Verde finally stopped running in the middle of the hallway. He looked at the clock. It had just turned seven-thirty. He looked back at the door to make sure he got the address right. Number Seven, East Wing. He remembered what a coincidence he thought it was that he lived in Number Seven, West Wing. He reached up to knock on the door, stopped himself, paused to catch his breath, then knocked on the door again.

"Just a minute!" Rosa shouted from beyond the door. Verde waited outside the door for what felt like five minutes, yet when he looked at the clock, it stayed at seven-thirty. Finally, the door opened, and there she was.

Verde was left speechless. She had put on just enough makeup to look pretty, but not too much so that she would look like a clown. She was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, black with a pink ribbon. Her light pink eyes were gleaming with life.

"Wow," was all Verde could say.

"I'm ready!" she said happily.

"Not yet," Verde said. He reached over and fitted the pink rose in his hand into her hat. "Now you're ready."

"If you say so," Rosa said. She held out her mitten-covered hand. "Shall we?"

Verde smiled and took her hand in his. "We shall." And off they went into the night.

Line Break

Magolor led the red man into the secret room. This one was emptier than the others; no useless knickknacks lined the walls. A large mirror in the back of the room was framed in gold with golden angel wings. The red man passed – of all things – a woolen white sock hanging on the wall. It was very plain-looking, but when he looked into it, he saw a fountain of swirling light. A large, spherical glass case contained a dark purple orb embellished with silver stars. Strangely enough, the orb seemed to be moving within the confines of the case. A vine of some kind was growing from a huge flower pot in the corner of the room nearest the entrance. A single fruit, almost as big as the red man, was hanging from the tip of the vine, giving off a soft blue light.

In the exact center of the room was a small glass case with a crown. It was dull gold, with several spots of rust all over it. A dull gray gemstone was inlaid in the crown front and center.

"So, which of these things has actual magic in them?" the red man asked.

"All of them," Magolor explained. "Unlike the false jewelry out there, all of these trinkets have magical properties." He pointed to the potted plant near the entrance. "That fruit there can unlock your full potential." His hand shot forward and grabbed the red man by his shoulder plate. The man had made a move towards the fruit as soon as Magolor had finished his sentence. "Don't even think about it, that's my only specimen." Magolor pulled the man closer to the center of the room and the glass case with the dull crown on it. "This, however is the greatest of all in my collection of magical items."

The red man wasn't quite sure if the sorcerer was serious. "All these fantastical items and you pick the rusted-over crown?"

Magolor laughed, a pleasant sound, not at all giving away his evil intentions. "It may look shabby now, but it used to be the most powerful magical item in all of existence. It's called the Master Crown. When I wore that crown on my head, the multiverse was my oyster. There was nothing I couldn't do, nothing I couldn't own, it was all mine." Magolor developed a sour look on his face. "And then that pink puffball and his three friends had to go and rain on my parade. It took all the magical energy left in that crown to keep myself alive." A dangerous fire began burning in Magolor's eyes. "They took everything from me. When I rejuvenate my crown I'll –"

For the second time that night, Magolor saw the red man's lance appear between his eyes.

"Look, little man," the red man said, sounding more irritated than usual, "I didn't come here to listen to your life's story, I came here for your help. If you're not going to give me that, I'll go find someone who will."

Magolor regained his composure and looked at the red man, totally calm. "I think you and I both know that you can't do that without compromising your mission. So why don't you put down your lance and let me help you."

The red man hesitated, then sheathed his lance. "So, what are you going to do to help me?" the red man wanted to know.

"I'm glad you asked!" Magalor said. "If you'll just follow me, I'll show you the answers to all the questions you might have."

They stepped (or rather, the red man stepped, Magolor floated) towards the large mirror in the back of the room. The red man saw himself in the mirror, yet he didn't see Magolor's reflection, or the rest of the room.

"You wouldn't happen to be a vampire would you?" the red man asked.

Magolor laughed again. "No, the reason you can't see my reflection in the mirror is because this mirror is special. Rather than show you your physical reflection, the Dimension Mirror reflects your deepest desires and your darkest truths. These desires and secrets accumulate into a solid form nearly identical to yours. Under normal circumstances, the mirror would do exactly that. But, a skilled wizard can control the mirror's magic and bend it to their will to find out things they need to know. Now, stand still and look at your reflection right in the eyes."

The red man did exactly that. He looked at his red eyes, staring back at him like two hot coals. Suddenly they turned bright green. His reflection shifted and changed. He was now staring at a completely different person. He had one bright green eye – the other eye was covered with an eye patch. A mask covered the rest of the person's face. Green skin the color of a forest dominated the figure. The stranger's eye was filled with a mysterious light, as if he were thinking of a way to make the red man laugh.

"What do you see?" Magolor asked.

The red man described the stranger in the Dimension Mirror. "What does it mean?"

"The green man you see in the mirror is Meta Knight's right hand man, Verde, a.k.a. your target."

"So, you know what my mission is?" the red man remarked. "Just how much was put in that letter my clan sent you?"

Magolor smiled pleasantly. "Just enough to help me help you." In fact, the letter sent by the Galacta Knight clan was very vague as to the intents of the red man's mission. Magolor had found out with other means.

"Where can I find this Verde now?" the red man wanted to know.

"Just keep looking your reflection in the eyes, or eye in your case."

The red man did this, and the image in the mirror shifted again. He saw the green man again, only he was with someone else, a pink woman. They were eating in a restaurant of some sorts. They both laughed as they seemed to say the same thing at the same time. The red man watched this scene unfold before him.

Line Break

Verde was a nervous wreck…again.

Despite his outward appearance of a suave and cool man, Verde's heart was pounding so hard, he was surprised Rosa couldn't hear it. So much had gone wrong that night. They had nearly gotten lost on their way to the restaurant, the waiter screwed up their order, and everyone was staring at them. Verde probably should have expected it; King Dedede's staff rarely visited Cappy Town on unofficial business like a date. To Verde, Rosa was taking all of this remarkably well.

He never could have known, of course, that Rosa was feeling just as nervous as Verde. Several scenarios played through her mind at once as to why this night was such a disaster, each more ridiculous than the first. Perhaps this was a setup, maybe someone was trying to sabotage her first date, or maybe it was just down to plain old bad luck. Whatever the reason, she wished she could be as calm as the green puffball in front of her.

Both of them, oblivious to each other's worries, sat in awkward silence for a while.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" they each said at the same time. They both stared at each other, stunned for a short while. Then they both laughed.

"Guess this isn't exactly going the way either of us planned, eh?" Verde asked. _Great, you idiot, now you're just stating the obvious,_ he thought.

"Are you kidding?" Rosa exclaimed. "This is nothing like I thought this first date would turn out!" _Awesome, now you're making him feel inadequate you dumbass,_ she thought.

Verde looked around at the various people at their seats. "You know, it's not polite to stare," he stated.

The people at the restaurant finally remembered their manners and returned to their personal business, only making occasional, quick glances at the two Star Warriors.

Rosa decided they needed to do something to get this date going again. Then she had it. "Let's play a game," she said, chastising herself for sounding like a little kid. "You know, to get to know each other better."

Verde looked back at Rosa. "What did you have in mind?"

"It's a little something my dad played with me. It's called Any Three Questions," she explained. "Whenever I seemed upset or angry, he'd play it with me to find out what was making me act that way."

"Sounds like fun," Verde said. "How do you play?"

"Well, Player One has to ask Player Two three questions, and they can be about anything. Once Player One asks all of their questions, Player Two can ask three questions. The only rule is to answer every question truthfully."

"Guess it's worth a shot," Verde said. "Mind if I go first?"

"Sure," Rosa said.

Verde looked towards the ceiling as he thought of a proper question to ask Rosa. Finally, he settled on: "How did you meet Meta Knight?"

Rosa frowned, and she looked down sadly.

"What's wrong? Is it a sad story? Then you don't have to answer, I'll think of another –"

"No, it's fine," Rosa said, cutting him off. She took a deep breath…and began her story.

"I knew my parents for a shorter time than most children did. They were two of Meta Knight's closest friends. They were assigned dangerous missions from him, but every time they came back alright. When I was six, though, they both went on a mission together. Meta Knight watched over me while they were gone." Her eyes turned watery at the memory. "He's still looking after me to this day."

Verde was shocked. He hadn't expected to hear such a tragic tale. She had lost her parents at around the same time in her life that he had. He had no idea what to say next.

Rosa wiped the tears out of her eyes. Instantly she had regained her composure, yet a hint of sadness remained in her eyes.

"Why don't we head on back to the Castle," Verde said. He glared at the other people, who had once again begun staring at them.

"I'm fine, really," Rosa said. "Besides, it's time for me to ask you a question."

Verde looked at Rosa skeptically, then decided that she had made up her mind. "Alright, shoot."

Rosa, hesitated, then asked: "How did you get your eyepatch?"

Verde scratched the top of his head. "It's a long story," Verde said, and he wondered how much he should tell Rosa about that story without scaring her off. "You see, I – someone shot me in the eye."

Rosa stared, wide-eyed with shock. "No way!" she shouted. "Who?"

Verde frowned and stared at the table. "One of my greatest enemies."

Rosa wasn't sure what to do with this vague answer. "Oh. Well, I guess it's your turn –"

Verde's head suddenly snapped up, and he quickly looked behind him. Verde thought he could see the air shimmer for a split second, but the illusion vanished as soon as it appeared.

Rosa frowned and tilted her head in confusion. "Something wrong?"

"Yeah," Verde said. "I think someone's watching us."

"Well, of course. We're surrounded by people who are still staring at us," she replied.

"No, it's more than that," Verde said, glaring at the surrounding diners once again. "It's just this feeling I'm getting, like something is trying to stare into my soul."

"Maybe we should leave," Rosa suggested, staring warily around her, as if she could see this "something" Verde described.

"Yeah, good idea," Verde said.

"Would you care for dessert?"

Both Verde and Rosa jumped in their seat at the sound of the waiter's voice.

"Actually, we were just about to leave," Rosa said.

"Of course, madam," the waiter said. He turned to Verde, presenting a small slip of paper. "The check, sir."

Verde looked at the bill and completely forgot about the unknown presence for a moment. "You've got to be kidding me! These prices are outrageous! Were we eating baked gold or something?"

But Verde paid the bill, and Verde and Rosa glanced over their shoulders occasionally all the way back to Castle Dedede.


	3. Plans and Presents

**Chapter 3: Plans and Presents**

The red man watched the two talk and dine through the mirror. Suddenly, the green one's head snapped up. He looked right at the man, then the image faded.

The red man suddenly felt breathless, and his mind was a little fuzzy. He nearly tipped over, but Magalor caught him.

"Whoa, there, soldier," Magalor said. "Looking into the Dimension Mirror for so long isn't good for your health, physically or mentally. Some go mad after gazing into it."

The red man smacked Magalor's hands away. "I don't need your help, little man. I just need some sleep."

Magalor's eyes curved in a smile. "Why, I can take care of that for you!" Magalor snapped his fingers and a bed appeared in a puff of purple smoke next to them. "You can sleep here for the night. After all, your clan is paying generously for my help in your mission."

The red man grunted in thanks, and sat down on the bed. "Comfier than I thought."

Magalor floated eagerly up to the red man. "So, now that you know some things about your enemy, what do you plan to do now?"

The red man's brain was a little less fuzzy now, and the fragments of a plan were slowly piecing themselves together in his mind's eye. "I think I know a way to get through to that green man, and the Meta Knight at the same time. And it involves that pink one that Verde's so fond of."

Line Break

Verde walked Rosa to her door in the Residential Quarters of the castle.

"Thank you so much for tonight." Rosa said.

"Of course! Sorry we had to cut it short, I just felt so uneasy in that restaurant. I'm also sorry for making you cry, and for not answering all of your question, and –"

"Verde, if you keep apologizing, we'll be here all night," Rosa said jokingly.

"Oh," Verde said. "Well, for what it's worth, I had a good time too, all things considered."

The two of them stood there awkwardly, neither having anything else to say, but neither wanting to leave each other's side either. Finally, Rosa said: "Well, good night, Verde."

"Good night," Verde replied. Rosa opened the door to her apartment, but paused before entering.

"Verde," Rosa said.

"Yeah, Rosa?"

"This was the first date you've ever been on, wasn't it?"

Verde hesitated before saying "Yeah."

Rosa looked at him for a long time. "Mine, too," she finally said before quickly shutting the door.

Verde stared at the door for a long time. Finally, he headed back to his apartment.

Rosa opened the door suddenly and ran up to Verde. Verde heard her footsteps behind him, and turned around.

Then, the most incredible thing happened.

She kissed him.

For a good second, nothing else existed in the world except him and her. Finally, they parted.

Verde was speechless. He finally made out "Wha-what was that for?"

Rosa smiled, and said "For everything." She walked back to her apartment with a confidence in her stride that wasn't there before, and shut the door.

At that moment, it was 8:30. Verde wandereded through the castle in shock, finally stumbling up to Number 7, West Wing at 8:45.

He fumbled with his keys, finally unlocking his door.

When Verde walked in, Meta Knight was sitting on the desk, drawing something on a piece of paper, but Verde barely registered this. He was still in shock.

Meta Knight quickly jumped on top of the drawings, obscuring them from view. "You are home early!" Meta Knight said, surprised. It was one of the few times Verde ever surprised Meta Knight. "Did you have a good time?"

Verde did not respond, merely continued to walk towards his bedroom. Meta Knight eased up on the drawings, and stared at Verde.

"Verde?" he called.

"No thanks, I just ate," Verde said distractedly. Meta Knight took in the bright red of Verde's cheeks, the faraway look in his eyes, and the goofy smile. Understanding dawned on Meta Knight.

"I take it everything went well?" Meta Knight asked.

"Yeah, sure," Verde said as he closed the door to his bedroom.

Meta Knight shook his head and smiled inwardly. He wondered how long ago it was that he felt something like what Verde was going through. Then he packed up his drawings and left the apartment. He had business to take care of.

When Verde finally fell asleep and entered his dream world, he could still feel Rosa's lips on his.

Line Break

Plasma Wisp was contemplating some blueprints in the Weapons Chamber when Meta Knight walked in.

"Do you ever sleep?" Meta Knight asked.

Plasma Wisp's eyes curved in a smile as he looked at Meta Knight. "When you're made of living energy, you find it kinda hard to sleep," the green fireball said. "But you're one to talk, right? I mean, it's midnight and you don't look the least bit tired."

Meta Knight looked at Plasma Wisp with no hint of humor in his eyes and said "I sleep when no one is looking."

Plasma Wisp wasn't sure what to say to this, so he just decided to change the subject. "So, what are you doing down here?"

Meta Knight held up one of his drawings and put it on top of the blueprints. "This will be Verde's graduation gift, and I want you to help build it."

Plasma Wisp inspected the drawings carefully. He recoiled from the drawings, as if he had taken a physical blow. Surprise was evident in his eyes. "You're…absolutely sure you want it exactly like this?"

Meta Knight nodded his head. "I want nothing but the best for my pupil."

Plasma Wisp looked back at the drawings. "OK, but you know that this project hasn't always had the best time of it."

"I know this," Meta Knight said. "But I know that in Verde's capable hands, this project will not crash and burn, so to speak, like it has so many times before.

Plasma Wisp nodded. "Well, as I always say, you're never wrong Lord Meta Knight. I promise that it will be done by the time Verde's graduated."

"I knew I could count on you Plasma Wisp," Meta Knight said.

Plasma Wisp smiled again. "Glad you have so much faith in me, Lord Meta Knight. And of course, I'll make sure Verde knows nothing of this."

"Of course," Meta Knight said. "After all, what's the point of a surprise if it's not surprising?"

Line Break

While Meta Knight and Plasma Wisp conspired about presents and surprises, Verde, Rosa, and the rest of the castle slept. Sentries patrolling the castle's walls were tired and sleepy themselves, making their senses not quite as sharp.

Therefore, no one noticed when the red man executed the first stage of his plan.


	4. Rojo Redstar

**Chapter 4: Rojo Redstar**

Verde awoke the next morning with a smile on his face.

He got up out of his bed and out of his bedroom into his living room. Everything was exactly how it had been last night. There were just two differences: Meta Knight was no longer at Verde's desk drawing things, and there was a pink envelope on the rug in front of his door.

Verde walked over to this envelope and picked it up, opening it. Inside there was a note:

* * *

Dear Verde,

I want to apologize if everything didn't go according to plan last night. I just want to let you know that I had a fun time regardless. Those people who kept watching us were really rude, huh? Anyway, I was hoping we could talk somewhere where no one will bother us. Meet me at the Valley of Dreams as soon as you get this. I hope you'll be there. After all, we never got to finish Any Three Questions!

From, Rosa.

* * *

Verde threw the letter aside and ran out the door. He stopped himself immediately after, realizing he had forgotten to get dressed. He swiftly made his way back to his bedroom. What seemed like seconds later, he was dressed in cape, shoulder pads, and boots, with his two swords, Wishing Star and Star Seeker, at his belt. He was about to run out the door again when he realized it would be much faster if he jumped off his balcony. He tore across his living room and out onto his balcony.

He stood still in the door frame for a second. His cape suddenly glowed with a brilliant white light, then immediately the light was gone. In the place where the cape was, Verde had two great, dark green bat wings. He stepped back a few paces, then immediately charged forward, flapping his wings as he did so. He jumped over the railing of the balcony, then stayed in the air as he sped forward faster than anyone could ever run. He was flying now, flying towards the love of his life in the Valley of Dreams.

* * *

The red man watched from the roof of Mag's Magic Emporium as the green figure sped farther and farther away from the castle. The red man gave chase immediately after. The first phase of his plan was almost complete.

* * *

Rosa was standing in front of the door to Number 7, West Wing of Castle Dedede. She was trying to figure out what exactly she should say, then finally, she decided.

"Verde?" she called. "It's me, Rosa. Listen, I just wanted to talk about last night. I had a great time, so I hope you're not blaming yourself for everything that went wrong. So, can I come in?" she asked.

There was no reply.

"Verde?" she called again. "Are you there?" She knocked on the door, then stopped.

The door was open.

She walked into Verde's apartment. Everything was green. There was forest green wallpaper, neon green couches, a mossy green desk. She stepped inside. She heard a crinkling sound as she put her foot down. She looked down and lifted her foot. There was a piece of paper on the ground. She picked up the paper, and realized there was something written on it. She read the note.

Rosa grew wide-eyed with shock. She threw the note aside and ran out the door, nearly running over Meta Knight as he walked by.

"Rosa!" he exclaimed. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" But she was already running away when she gave her reply.

"I'm going to go help my idiot boyfriend!" she shouted. She had already ran through the hallway and down the stairs to the main floor.

Meta Knight marveled at the young woman's speed. She was very fast, almost as fast as Verde. Indeed, even though he secretly regarded Verde as his star pupil, he knew that there was still incredible potential in both his students. Rosa's speed was one of her shining features. But she seemed in an especially big hurry today, and Meta Knight wondered why.

Then he continued to walk off, closing the door to Verde's apartment as he did so. He would head back to the Weapons Chamber to talk to Plasma Wisp about Verde's present, then he would see what Rosa was so worried about.

* * *

Verde wondered what Rosa wanted to talk about. Maybe they would finish Any Three Questions first. Maybe he could tell her his full story and she wouldn't be freaked out.

 _Yeah, and maybe the multiverse will turn into a pile of cotton candy tomorrow_ , Verde thought to himself.

At last, Verde came upon the Valley of Lost Dreams, more of a canyon, really. The walls were sheer rock, the grassy bottom filled with exotic flowers a few meters or so below. Old legends say the canyon was created when a star crashed there eons ago. The star's power allowed the canyon to absorb power from people's dreams, which was how the gorgeous flowers grew there despite the unfavorable conditions – or so the legend told. Whether the story was true or not, The Valley of Lost Dreams was a beautiful place indeed. _No wonder she wants to meet me here –_

Verde's thoughts were interrupted by something heavy and metal crashing into his back.

Verde was thrown completely off balance by the blow. The world spun before him as he fell head-over-heels towards the ground. He flapped his bat wings in a desperate attempt to reassert his balance, but to no avail. He landed with a thud, bounced a couple times, and then skidded to a stop. Verde stood up, his back feeling rather sore…

…and stopped as he stared at the person responsible for his unscheduled landing.

It was definitely a Star Warrior. His skin was a bright red, with a cape to match. He carried a cherry-red lance in his right hand and a white shield bearing a four-pointed red star in his left hand – Verde guessed the shield was the heavy metal thing that had crashed into his back.

It was the face that shocked him the most. The only feature of his face Verde saw were his eyes, glowing red like two hot coals. The reason his face was obscured was a mask, a plus sign-shaped slit for his eyes. Verde knew he recognized that mask from somewhere, but the daze from that jerk's shield colliding with his back was clouding his mind.

Then it hit him: that mask was worn by the same people who had killed his parents all those years ago.

"You're more durable than I expected," the red man said in a voice that sounded like he was mildly annoyed. "I expected you to be knocked unconscious by that blow so I could get this mission over with."

Verde was confused and annoyed. "Mission? Wait, who are you?"

The red man let out a short bark of laughter. "My name? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter if I tell you, because you'll be dead in a few minutes." The red man raised his lance point first into the air, rather unenthusiastically, as if he was tired of doing this. "The name's Rojo Redstar, the Crimson Knight, and in the name of the great Lord Galacta Knight, who your Meta Knight has so sullied, blah blah blah, I have come to destroy you." Rojo lowered his lance to the ground. "Or something like that, I honestly don't care. I'm just doing this for a quick buck." Rojo pointed his lance at Verde. "So, you ready to die or what?"

Verde's head was swimming with the words Rojo just said. "Look, not that I'm not excited to die or anything, but I have a date with a really cute girl right now, so if I could just get to that, then we can talk about my death."

Rojo's eyes seemed to be filled with even more annoyance than usual. "You're really dense aren't you? I'll bet your brain is the size of a pea." Rojo laughed. "You're even green and round like a pea. You don't even realize it was me who sent you that letter do you?"

Verde was suddenly less sure of himself. "Well, I didn't until you asked me that last question."

"You really are a Pea-Brain, aren't you? Yes, I sent that letter to lure you to this place far away from your Castle and the people who can help you."

"But, why are you so interested in killing me?"

"Well, I'm just doing this for money, as I already said," Rojo explained. "As for the clan's plans, well it should be obvious, right?"

"You seem to forget that you smacked my head with that shield of yours. My logical reasoning is kind of fuzzy right now."

Rojo glared at Verde. "Your ineptitude seems rather adept at wasting my time. Basically, you are Meta Knight's closest apprentice, of the two of his apprentices that exist. One could even make the argument that you are like a son to him. Your death would crush him." Rojo's eyes curved slightly upward from behind his mask as he smirked. "See how strong and silent he is after someone so close to him dies."

Verde glared at Rojo with an intense hatred. Now, he was not only fighting for his life, he was fighting for Meta Knight as well.

Rojo gave a short bark of laughter again. "You know if you keep glaring, your face is going to stick like that."

Verde decided that now was the time to act. A knight didn't let someone like this insult those close to him. They taught that someone a lesson they would not soon forget.

"You know, this isn't the first time I dealt with the Galacta Knight clan," Verde said.

Rojo tilted his head to one side. "Oh, really?"

Verde smiled, but it did not seem to reach his emerald green eyes, filled with hatred. "Yeah. The first time was when I murdered the guy who killed my parents."

Rojo stayed silent for a while before replying with, "Is that so?"

Verde nodded his head. "I chopped the guy's arm clean off. The next morning, his body was found in an alley in a puddle of his own blood. The police said the main cause of death was blood loss." Verde's smile vanished slowly, just as an icy stare built up in his eye. Meta Knight had taught him how to intimidate people, how to make them realize that they were up against a formidable threat. _Sometimes, a battle can be won before it even begins if the enemy realizes they are out of your league,_ Meta Knight's voice said in Verde's head. _Your eye can convey just how confident you are, make the enemy fear you._ Verde had the feeling Rojo wasn't going to be deterred by an icy stare, but he thought he might as well tell the red man what he was up against.

"But you know," Verde said, "I still didn't feel that justice had been served. I will topple the Galacta Knight clan for what they did to my parents, what they did to me." Verde pointed at Rojo. "Starting with you."

Rojo became more wary and put his guard up. The scatterbrained boy that had once been standing in front of him was now a powerful threat. Everything from his stance to his tone of voice to that icy green stare conveyed the sense that he was facing a completely different beast altogether.

"Talking is nice, but I think that you only really know a man when you FIGHT HIM!" Rojo shouted the last word as he lunged suddenly at Verde with an overhead slice, hoping to surprise Verde into slipping, giving him an opening to end this fight quickly.

But Verde knew this trick as well, and already his swords had slipped into his hands in an X-shaped parry. The blades collided with a clang. Rojo hadn't even seen Verde move to draw his swords, and yet he had moved fast enough to parry that blow.

Verde's swords, named Star Seeker and Wishing Star, were composed of a mixture of metal taken from a meteorite and an extremely volatile metal that Meta Knight's sword, Galaxia was constructed from. As such, they could withstand almost any attack, allowing Verde to deflect Rojo's slice easily.

Rojo laughed. "Even your swords are cheap knockoffs of Meta Knight's! Just how much do your worship that idiot anyway?"

Verde pointed his swords at Rojo, as if he meant for them to reach the red man through his heart from even this great distance. "Keep talking about my master like that, go ahead. See how far it gets you."

"Ooh, quick-tempered are you, Pea-Brain?"

"I certainly am, Tomato-Head."

Rojo's eyes seemed to glow a brighter red than before at that last remark, as if the hot coals had been set ablaze. "You can't insult me like that! Only I can insult people like that!"

Verde's mouth quirked at one side. "Not so funny when it's used against you, is it?"

Rojo was done talking. He lunged again, this time going for a thrust. But Verde was no longer there. Rojo's battle instincts snapped his body to his right just in time to block a side cut from Verde with his shield. But, one advantage to having two swords is that, while the enemy was distracted with what one sword was doing, Verde could go in for an attack with the other. However, before the green man could go for the kill, Rojo pushed forward with his shield, shoving Verde out of the way and causing the strike to just miss him. Rojo was starting to fill with that adrenaline rush that he felt during fights like this. He hadn't battled anyone this skilled in a long time. He was really enjoying himself!

Verde felt the same way. Meta Knight explained to him once that all Star Warriors felt a sort of high when they get in intense battles. "It enhances our battle instincts and allows us to ignore minor injuries," Meta Knight had explained to him once. Indeed, Verde felt suddenly aware of every little thing happening around him, particularly involving the battle. He seemed to know every move Rojo was about to make a split second before it happened, and was still able to counter it effectively.

Rojo was getting more and more annoyed at the fact that this pathetic green gnat wasn't going to die any time soon. He tried jumping at Verde and smacking him with his shield, but every time, Verde would dodge out of the way. He tried a thrust or a slice with his lance, but Verde would parry and deflect them easily. Rojo realized that he was against an opponent with just as much skill as he had.

Verde decided he was done fighting a defensive fight. He threw a side slash ar Rojo, but it was easily blocked with his shield. He tried a cross slash might work, but Rojo dodged just as easily as he blocked, and there was no affect. Verde feinted a side cut, and Rojo luckily fell for it. Verde then tried a thrust with his sword. Rojo dodged, but just barely.

Rojo suddenly felt a pain in his side, and when he put his hand to it, it came away bloody. Seeing this, Verde looked at the sword that had landed the blow, Star Seeker. The tip was tinged red.

Verde had spilled first blood.

Rojo was even more enraged now. He lunged at Verde once more with a thrust, but Verde wasn't there. Rojo looked all around him, searching the canyon for some sign of the green swordsman. But to no avail. He suddenly noticed a shadow in front of him, growing bigger and bigger…

Rojo dodged out of the way just in time to avoid Verde's blades as they were buried hilt-deep in the ground. Verde's wings had once again appeared on his back, leathery and dark green. As quickly as Verde had landed, he back flipped to avoid any possible counterattack. _His agility is incredible,_ Rojo thought. _A second later, and he would have shish-kabobbed me._ Rojo took in Verde's ready stance, wings spread, ready to take off at the slightest moment. He was waiting for Rojo to make the next move.

 _Well, if it's an aerial battle he wants, it's an aerial fight he'll get,_ Rojo thought.

Rojo's cape shimmered with a white light. When the light faded, the cape was gone. A pair of wings spread from Rojo's back. His wings were covered in bright red feathers, lighter at the tips. Verde was reminded of a phoenix, flaming and glorious. But Rojo's wings weren't just ornamental. With a powerful flap of his wings, Rojo had taken to the skies. Soon, he was an indistinct red shape on the backdrop of the blue sky. Verde's bat wings flapped as well, and he too was in the sky. The beautiful view of the canyon stretched out below them, but neither fighter cared. They were solely focused on each other, calculating, determining which move to make. Finally, they flew towards each other and clashed.

They clashed swords to lance and shield. Sometimes, they had elegant strikes, like poetry. Other times, they simply flew by and slashed at the other with no elegance, just the desire to land a hit. Rojo finally landed a blow on Verde with his shield, but it was a glancing blow only. However, with each flying at such high speeds towards each other, a glancing blow was just as painful as a solid one. Verde temporarily lost his balance, but he quickly regained it. He would not make the same mistake again. He flew back at Rojo and tried a side cut, but Rojo parried with his lance easily.

And so it went on for a long time, each warrior flying at the other to gain as much force as they could to put into their next strike, only for it to be cancelled out by the force of the other's attack. They clashed for what seemed like an eternity when really, only a few minutes passed, such was their speed.

Finally, when they had clashed again, each out of breath, Rojo said to Verde, "I think it's time to end this, don't you?" Rojo pushed Verde back with his shield and quickly flew away. Once he was far enough away, with Verde being nothing but a green dot silhouetted against the sky, he rose the face of his shield upward. The red star on his shield began to glow golden with energy.

Even from a distance, Verde could see the glow emitting from the red knight's shield. He realized immediately what was happening, and quickly crossed his swords above his head. They, too, glowed with a golden light as energy built up within them. Each knight continued to build up energy in their respective weapons. Finally, the golden lights glowed so bright, that they could have been seen from miles around.

"Now!" they each shouted.

"Sword Beam!" Verde shouted as he slashed his swords in an X-shape, creating large slash marks of glowing green energy of the same shape.

"Shield Beam!" Rojo shouted, lowering his shield as he did so. A huge plus-sign of red energy shot out from his shield, like the path of two slashing swords.

The two objects filled with energy raced toward each other at high speed. Eventually, they collided. Each beam attempted to push the other back, but to no avail. Finally, each beam glowed brighter and brighter. Then, they exploded.

It was a deafening sound, like someone had taken a huge loudspeaker and turned the volume to max. Smoke and fire billowed out from the source of the explosion. Verde was pushed back by the force of the blast. He thought the cacophony would never end.

Finally, the sound died down, the only remainder of the blast being a huge cloud of smoke surrounding the epicenter. Verde gazed in marvel at the cloud, realizing that he had played a part in creating that huge event.

* * *

As Rosa sped closer and closer to the Valley of Lost Dreams, she began to make out two golden lights glowing brighter and brighter. Finally, a green light shot out from the left while a red beam shot out from the right. The two beams clashed, and began to glow brighter. Finally, an explosion occurred right where the two beams had met. Even from this distance, Rosa could feel the force behind the explosion.

"When I get there, you better not be dead, Verde!" Rosa shouted, the worry and anger obvious in her voice. She sped up as she approached the valley.

* * *

"Whoa," was all Verde had to say. He started forward to go around the smoke cloud and attempt to find Rojo, when he heard a faint whistling sound from above him. He looked up to see what it was…

Just in time to get hit square in the face with Rojo's shield.

Verde fell down, further and further, getting closer to the ground at an increasingly faster rate. Finally, in a cloud of dust and dirt, he landed.

Rojo landed in a slightly less forceful fashion right next to Verde. The green Star Warrior's vision was darkening around the edges as consciousness began to slip away from him.

"It's such a shame, Pea-Brain," Rojo said. "You put up a good fight. You entertained me for a while. Even though you annoyed me greatly, I still enjoyed that battle. Who knows? Maybe under different circumstances, we could have been friends." The last thing Verde saw as his eyes closed was Rojo raising his lance up, the point aimed right in the middle of Verde's face.

* * *

Rojo raised his lance higher and higher until the point was parallel to the ground. He was about to plunge it down when he hesitated. He looked at Verde lying there, vulnerable and helpless now that he was unconscious. There was something wrong about the idea of killing someone who couldn't defend themselves.

 _Pull yourself together, Redstar!_ Rojo told himself. _You're made of tougher stuff than this. Now finish your job and collect your paycheck!_

Rojo raised the lance fractionally higher and plunged it down.

Suddenly, the lance's point was pushed off course by a powerful force. Rojo looked up from Verde's unconscious body…

…just in time to block a sword cut with his shield! Rojo pushed the sword back and slashed at the figure in front of him only to cut at thin air. He looked around to find who had attacked him. A searing pain came from his back, just between his wings. He spun around quickly –

– and was thrown back by the force of a kick to the face. He stumbled backwards several paces from Verde, a fierce headache beginning to develop. He looked ahead at the person who had dared to attack him, to delay his mission further.

A pink Star Warrior stood in front of him, a pink rose perched atop her head. She held a bronze-bladed katana in front of her with both hands, and a fierce look of pure rage in her eyes. Instantly, Rojo recognized her as the other person in that scene from the mirror that was with Verde, his date if he recalled correctly.

"If you try to attack Verde again, I swear to whoever created this multiverse that I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Rosa shouted


	5. The Rose Burns with Red Fire

**Chapter 5: The Rose Burns with Red Fire**

Rojo was getting tired of all these delays. All he wanted was to get the mission over with and get his paycheck once he was back home. Was that really so much to ask for? Instead this pink puffball had decided to give him a nasty cut on his back and show up to protect his target?

This was starting to turn into the worst day of his life.

"I'm guessing you really like this kid to be protecting him like that," Rojo said to the pink figure in front of him. Rosa, he remembered from his spying with the Dimension Mirror. She was standing right in front of Verde's still unconscious body, her katana held in front of her in a two-handed grip. She had planted her feet, clearly not intent on moving anytime soon.

"You heard what I said!" she shouted, her breaking voice betraying her nervousness. "Get out of here and never bother Verde again unless you want my sword to go through your heart!"

Rojo's manner did not change. "Verde fought me with all his might. You see what has become of him. What chance do you have?"

Rosa was still giving him that icy glare, so similar to Verde's, only hers was filled with more hatred. "You're worn out from that last battle you had. I haven't fought at all today."

"And yet I am clearly better equipped. I have a lance and shield, a means for both offense and defense. You have only your sword, whose defense options are limited."

Rosa smiled, but it never reached her eyes. "Clearly we are about even. Even so, I will destroy you for hurting Verde."

Rojo raised an eyebrow at this, though Rosa couldn't see it. "Whatever happened to sparing me if I just left?"

Rosa leveled her katana so that the point was facing Rojo. "I've decided you're just too much of an ass to let you live."

Rojo laughed. "I suppose I can respect that. The question is, are you able to carry the threat out?"

Rosa braced herself, reminding Rojo of a lion about to pounce. "I think you'll find that I am quite capable of killing you."

"You are mistaken," Rojo said. "I did not ask whether you _will_ kill me. I asked if you _can_ kill me." Rojo's eyes curved in a smirk. "I think you and I both know I'm a much more experienced campaigner than you."

"Shut up!" Rosa shouted. "I'm done talking. You're already dead!" And with that, she was gone, the only thing telling of her ever being there was a cloud of dust where her feet had kicked off the ground.

Rojo looked around, visibly surprised. He had not expected the pink Star Warrior to take off so suddenly. He searched for her, but the attempt was in vain. There was not a trace of Rosa anywhere. But she couldn't have just vanished, so where did –

There! Rojo's battle instincts kicked in and told him where Rosa's sword would land. He put his shield up to deflect the blow, and was just in time to stop her katana from cleaving him in two. He tried to retaliate with a slash from his lance, but Rosa spun away at the last second. He looked to where she had gone and tried for a stab this time, but she had backed up seemingly as soon as Rojo had started the movement. Instantly, she jumped forward and tried for a side cut. The red Star Warrior had just enough time to jump away, but the katana still grazed him, creating a shallow cut just under his arm. The stinging sensation, followed by the dampness of blood dripping down his side, angered him.

 _She's way too fast,_ Rojo thought to himself. Verde had been fast too, but not like this. _It isn't just her speed,_ he realized. _It's the way she moves._ Realization dawned on him as he discovered what was going on. He blocked one last side cut from Rosa's katana, then pushed her back.

"You're of the Leaf Ability, aren't you?" Rojo asked before she could lunge at him again.

Rosa froze in place. "What?"

"Come, now. Didn't your Meta Knight tell you anything about Copy Abilities?" Rojo asked.

"Of course he did. He told me about how all Star Warriors are born with the power to copy the abilities of all they consume," Rosa said.

"Yeah, and didn't he also tell you that when Star Warriors grow up, they grow out of their copying power? And didn't he tell you how all Star Warriors have a natural affinity to one Copy Ability?"

"Of course he did. You might hate Meta Knight, but he's no fool. Even you can see that."

"Of course I can, but then again, I'm not as crazy as everyone else in the Galacta Knight clan. My only loyalty lies to money. That's why I do things like this, anyway. Anyway, your Copy Ability is Leaf, isn't it?"

Rosa stared at Rojo suspiciously. "How did you know?"

Rojo smiled. "Well, you don't exactly do a good job of hiding it, do you? I mean, the way you move, it's like a leaf in the wind. Because of that, it's almost impossible to land a blow on you. Really, I think it's too obvious."

Rosa smiled as well, cold and devoid of humor. "Well, that knowledge will do you little good, seeing as you still have no way to combat it."

Rojo laughed and raised his lance into the air. "I think not, for you see I know now that all advantages lie with me. For you see, my Copy Ability…is fire."

And just like that, his lance was ablaze with a red flame. Red, the color of the coldest fire.

"I think it's time for you to burn," he said.

Rosa held her own katana aloft in reply. A faint pink glow emanated from the blade. A sudden breeze – gentle, yet carrying the faint scent of blood with it – blew through the valley, whipping up the red flames on Rojo's lance. Leaves blew from behind Rojo, seemingly hundreds of them. Oak, rowan, maple, birch, leaves of all different types seemed to fly by Rojo and attach themselves to Rosa's katana. When it was completely covered with leaves, the remaining ones began swirling around it like a twister. The result was a miniature tornado of razor-sharp leaves swirling around Rosa's katana.

"If I burn, then you burn with me," Rosa said.

The two lunged at each other.

Rojo's flaming red lance collided with Rosa's, over and over, each time causing more of the leaves that covered Rosa's katana to catch fire. As they fought, a whirlwind of leaves began to surround them. The wind they created was creating a wall of dust, blocking Verde's unconscious body and the rest of the Valley of Dreams from view. They were now isolated from the rest of the world, forced into combat, and now that their true powers were revealed, it was a fight to the death.

The whirlwind of leaves was ever present and distracting. While some leaves flew by harmlessly and others were caught ablaze as they flew too close to Rojo's red torch of a weapon, most grazed Rojo, scratching at him. These leaves were sharp, and not just for decoration. Each one was like a little knife, an effective killing weapon that Rosa now had at her disposal along with her katana of leaves.

But Rojo had a potent weapon as well, and its power was not to be underestimated. As Rojo fought, streaks of fire flew from his lance, following its path as it struck Rosa's katana each time. Her blade was beginning to lose its leafy armor, and Rojo was also beginning to feel less power from her strikes.

Rosa was thinking much the same thing. Despite how powerful her leaf powers were, using Copy Abilities too often tended to wear a Star Warrior out. She decided to end this before she lost the energy to stand. After colliding with Rojo's shield once more, the last of the leaves on Rosa's katana burned away.

"You can't keep doing this," Rojo said. "Eventually, you'll run out of energy. Despite how fast you are, you're still starting to slow down. I can now keep up well enough to block or dodge every blow."

Grudgingly, Rosa had to admit he was right. But that didn't mean she would just give up. She jumped back, avoiding any possible counterattack. Rojo braced himself. Clearly, this girl was trying something. Rosa raised her blade to the sky, and once again it glowed with a soft pink light. The leaves suddenly stopped whirling around and froze right where they were. The wind also seemed to die down. Rosa pointed her katana at Rojo. Suddenly, all the leaves rotated so that their tips were all pointed straight at the red menace. Rojo was now surrounded on all sides, even up. There was no escape.

"Dodge this," she said. She slashed her sword, and cried out: "Omnipresent Leaf Blades!"

Then, the leaves flew straight at Rojo.

Their movement was almost completely unpredictable. While some leaves would strike Rojo at the front, where he would put up his shield to defend himself, another stream of them would slash at his back, cutting into his back. Then he would turn around and block those, only to get fired at from both sides. He would then dodge out of the way of those, only to have a rain of deadly green knives slice at him from above. The leaves were infinite. The leaves were relentless. The leaves were sharp. There was no escape.

Then Rojo smiled. This was what he was waiting for.

He raised his lance, ignoring the stinging pain of leaves from all sides. The blade suddenly flared up with an even brighter red flame. "Fire Spin!" he shouted. He began spinning faster, faster, faster, until he was nothing but a spinning source of heat and red light. Now when the leaves flew at hi, they touched the flame and turned to ash. Rosa kept flinging more and more leaves, but she was nearly out of energy. Finally, one last oak leaf flew at Rojo, burning up in a spark of red flame.

Rojo stopped spinning around the same time Rosa stopped standing.

Rojo slowly walked over to Rosa, his lance no longer ablaze. Rosa's energy was completely spent. She could barely stay awake.

Even as Rojo was walking toward her, Rosa began crawling away from him. Rojo laughed at this. "Not ready to die yet, I take it?" he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Rosa kept on crawling, until finally, with one last puff of energy, she stopped. "No," she replied. "I'm just not ready for _him_ to die yet."

Rojo stopped walking now that he was right in front of her. It was only then when his warrior rage cleared and he could focus on something other than his opponent. He had finally realized where she was heading.

She was now between him and Verde.

"There's no way I'm letting someone else I care about die because I wasn't able to do anything," she said in barely a whisper. "Not after what happened to mom and dad."

Rojo sighed. "Look, I don't have time for your tragic backstory or your futile attempts to try and protect your boyfriend, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you." Rojo kicked her out of his path. "No more delays! Time for bloodshed!" he cried out. He stomped his way over to Rosa.

* * *

As Verde opened his eyes, he registered two things: one, he wasn't dead.

Two, Rojo was stomping over to Rosa.

Why was she just sitting there? Why didn't she get up and fight? Then he realized her katana was still gripped tightly in her hand. She had fought. And she had lost.

Rojo stopped moving. He was now facing Rosa.

 _He isn't seriously going to kill her,_ he thought.

Rojo seemed to raise his lance in slow motion.

 _No,_ Verde thought. _I will not let him kill her._ But the lance raised higher and higher into the air, and Verde could still feel his head throbbing. Anger boiled up in Verde's mind more and more, and he began to lose his sense of self. At that moment, Verde realized that Rojo was a killer, and that he would kill Rosa.

And then he would die. _Because I will have the sweet pleasure of killing him_ , Verde thought. But the voice in his head was off. It had his voice, sure, but it had a different tone to it. Verde then realized whose voice that was.

It was the voice of a killer.

No, he had promised Meta Knight to never let him out again.

 _But you know that I'm so much stronger and faster than you._

Verde couldn't let him out again, not after all those innocent lives lost barely fifteen years ago.

 _I'm the only one who can save her._

There's no way he could let him out.

 _I'll save her for you._

He couldn't let him out.

 _There's no other way to save your lover._

He couldn't let him out again.

 _You_ are _giving in to me, even if you don't realize it. The mental barriers you put up to prevent my escape are slowly deteriorating as you realize that I'm the only one who can save her._

Even if that's true, Verde couldn't let him out.

 _At last, I shall spill blood again._

He couldn't let him out…

 _At last, I am free_.

Then the darkness swallowed up Verde's vision, and he was lost in the depths of his own mind.


	6. Greenie the Terror Strikes Again

**Hey guys! Haven't done one of these author notes in a while. I'm sorry I've been so inactive lately. October has been a crazy month for me. But, I was able to finish this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy. P.S. You probably won't understand what's going on unless you've read my first story: "Verde the Star Warrior: Tales of Beginning." If you want to understand this chapter, I suggest you go read that first.**

 **Oh, and Happy Halloween :D**

 **-Your friendly neighborhood VTSW**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Greenie the Terror Strikes Again**

Rojo's lance was at the highest point it could be. The point was positioned right between Rosa's eyes, which were currently filled with defiance and fury. Even though she had almost no fight left in her, she was still ready to keep battling. Warriors to the bitter end. That's the Star Warrior way. For this, Rojo respected her in a weird way, and for a moment he hesitated to kill her.

It was due to this hesitation that Rosa would not die that day.

As Rojo was about to drive the lance point home, it was pushed out of the way for the second time that day. Immediately after that, Rojo felt a blunt impact on his face, as if someone had kicked him. The force of the blow knocked him backward several feet. He was stunned as, for a moment, his vision was hazy. When the world finally stopped spinning, Rojo recognized who was standing in front of him, who had the audacity to delay him even further.

It was Verde.

"Jeez, you just don't know when to quit, do you Pea-Brain?" Rojo asked.

Verde looked at Rojo then, straight in the eye, and the red man recoiled. It was the same eye that had stared at him before, but there was no icy glare like before. Instead, it was replaced with something far more terrifying. There was a dangerous light – no, not a light, a dangerous darkness – in Verde's eye that spoke of pure bloodlust and rage.

"Pea-Brain, eh?" Verde asked. "Surely you can come up with a better insult than that for one of the most dangerous criminals in the world?"

Rojo was legitimately confused now. "What are you talking about?"

Verde smiled then, or at least, it could have been called a smile. It looked more to Rojo like a wolf would bare its fangs at its prey. "Of course, you wouldn't know what I'm talking about, would you? Meta Knight was very, _very_ careful to erase any trace of his connection with me. I suppose it was a little gift; I mean, imagine how the media would react if it were to discover that Meta Knight was training a renowned serial killer in the finer arts of swordplay?"

 _What's with him? It's the same guy, but his tone of voice and his personality are almost completely different,_ Rojo thought to himself. "Look, Pea-Brain, I don't know if you're trying to scare me or confuse me or what, but it's not working."

Verde cackled, high-pitched and creepy, the laugh of someone far gone. "Don't you get it? I'm not the same Verde. We're practically separate people." He bowed so low that blades of grass brushed against his face. The spectacle resembled a child trying to bow. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Greenie the Terror."

Rojo was taken aback at this. He'd certainly heard of Greenie the Terror. Anyone in Dreamland could tell about the serial killings he committed starting over fifteen years ago. He had gone mysteriously gone dormant over the past five years. He was known for his brutal mutilation of the bodies he left behind. But there was no way he and Verde were the same person.

Was there?

"I can see your disbelief written all over your face," Verde – or rather Greenie – said to Rojo. "But know that doubting my abilities will be your final, fatal mistake."

In an instant, Greenie was standing right in front of Rojo. The red man jumped back in shock. How is it possible that he moved that fast?

"I don't know why he doesn't give into me more often," Greenie said. "He and I both know that I'm so much faster and stronger than him." Greenie lifted the sword in his right hand and licked the blade, carrying some of the blood – Rojo's blood – that had been there before into his mouth. He immediately spat it back out. "Don't know why I did that, your blood tastes like charcoal."

"Look if you're going to fight me, just do it already," Rojo said to Greenie.

Right then, Rojo noticed a hunger in Greenie's eyes that, coupled with his incessant wolfish grin, gave him the appearance of a ravenous predator. "Well, if you're so eager to die, I'll be more than happy to oblige!"

In the blink of an eye, Greenie was gone. Rojo had barely registered this fact when he felt a searing pain in his right side. He immediately turned toward the source of his pain, only to glance an afterimage of Greenie's grinning face disappear. Immediately, something stabbed at his back. He turned around to slash at the green devil with his lance, but Greenie was now over ten feet away, remarkably.

Greenie made that high-pitched cackle again. "A little disoriented by my blinding speed? Well, as you heard me say before, I am much faster than Verde. And that's saying something considering how fast he is."

Greenie took a step forward. Then another. He was walking tantalizingly slowly towards Rojo. The assassin considered charging Greenie, but knew that he would be unable to simply because he was nowhere near fast enough.

"But speed isn't all I have. As you may have also heard, I am much stronger too." Greenie had come within sword length at this point, and he slowly raised his sword in his left hand for a strike, while dragging the right one along the ground.

Rojo raised his shield to block the blow. He had a split second to wonder why the Pea-Brain was moving so much slower when Greenie's sword struck Rojo's shield.

Rojo cried out. There was so much force behind the strike that his hand and entire arm had gone numb. His body had even been pushed back a little. He was pretty sure that a blow like that would have left a sizable dent in any normal shield. But his shield wasn't normal.

Greenie's expression did not change. "I see your shield is much more durable than expected. What is it made of? Some rock that fell out of the sky perhaps?" Greenie's smile widened, which Rojo thought was impossible. "Well your space shield won't save you from this!" In the blink of an eye, his right sword was about to slice Rojo from the side. Luckily, he was able to put up his lance to parry the blow. However, that caused problems as well, because now his right hand was numb too.

Now they were standing still, their weapons locked, neither making any progress on the other. Rojo found it remarkable he was still able to hold on to his weapons.

"It seems we've reached deadlock," Greenie said. He chuckled a little. "If even one of us lets up, the other will win. But consider this, Rojo Redstar. All Star Warriors have Copy Abilites."

Rojo had an idea where this conversation was going, and he didn't like it.

"And mine is Spark." Greenie said. As he said it, his swords emitted a faint green glow.

Bright green lightning danced back and forth across Verde's blades and up Rojo's own weapons. Rojo cried out as he felt like a million fire arrows had been shot at him at once. The energy sent him flying across the ground to crash into a large rock half-buried in the ground headfirst. The pain was incredible, like someone had decided to use his head as an anvil. Now he couldn't get up at all, with both hands being numb and his splitting headache disorienting him. His body twitched and sparked as excess electricity caused his body to move of its own painful volition. He quickly discovered that his vision was darkening around the edges.

Rojo blinked, and when he opened his eyes, Greenie was standing right in front of him, that wolfish grin wider than ever. "Now, now, Mr. Redstar. We can't have you lose consciousness. Then it won't be any fun when I torture you!" Greenie said with the sound of a child whose friend wasn't playing a game correctly. He raised one of his swords in the air, still filled with electrical energy, and plunged it downward. While Rojo did not see where it landed, he certainly felt it. A searing arrow of agony had been shot straight into his right foot. He yelled in utter pain as the electricity once again burrowed its way into his body. Rojo's eyes were no longer dark around the edges, but rather bright red. Red like his blood.

Greenie leaned down and put his face right up near Rojo's so that his eye was taking up almost all of Rojo's vision. "Did you know it's possible to stab a Star Warrior in 100 different places without killing them?"

Rojo didn't know that, but he did not care to know where those places were. He felt something being withdrawn from his foot. "That's number one." Rojo saw the sword in Greenie's left hand come up and back down swiftly, causing more searing agony in the red man's other foot. "There's number two." Rojo saw Greenie's right-hand sword raise into the air, half-covered in Rojo's bright red blood. Another source of pain in his right hand. "Number three." Another agony in his left hand. "Four! Five! Six!" Each time Greenie said a number, Rojo felt another stab in another part of his body. Red, hot blood covered the ground, himself, and Greenie's swords. Rapidly the pain became practically unbearable, and Rojo wanted nothing more than to just die. But no matter how much he wanted to just let the darkness take him, the pain would force him back to reality. He couldn't move. He could barely think.

At last, he heard Greenie shout "One hundred!" and felt another stab of pain right underneath his mouth. At last he could fall into the embrace of unconsciousness, now that the pain was no longer amplifying itself. He didn't even care that Greenie had raised his sword one last time, the point aimed right between his eyes.

He just wanted to sleep.

* * *

Rosa finally woke into the world of consciousness to the sight of Verde standing over a red thing, a puddle of bright red blood quickly spreading.

She then registered two things: one, the red thing in a pool of his own blood was Rojo. Two, Verde was about to kill him.

"Number one hundred and one!" Verde shouted. "The killing stroke!"

"Verde, no! You don't have to kill him!" Rosa shouted.

Verde paused then, and looked up at Rosa, who recoiled. His eye, once so full of humor, mischief, and intelligence was filled now with something entirely different: bloodlust, hunger, and rage.

"Well, well. The girlie finally wakes." Verde said. Something about his voice was off, though. It was more menacing, more over the edge. "I was worried I would have to force you awake."

Rosa noticed other things about Verde as well, like his wolfish grin that was way too big, both his swords that were soaked with red blood and coursing with green lightning. She also noticed that he was slowly walking this way.

"Tell you what, as a special gift, I'll give you a quick and painless death for playing along so well." Verde said, still giving that wicked smile.

Rosa realized then that whatever had just happened in that fight, this was not her Verde. This was some kind of monster, bred specifically for nothing but killing. She thought that maybe she should fight back, but she didn't want to hurt Verde.

"Verde, please. No one needs to die today," she managed to say without making her voice quiver despite her terror.

Verde had reached her now. He simply stared at her for a while with a creepy glare. Finally, after some time, he said "I'm not Verde. I am Greenie the Terror. And for me, someone needs to die every day." He raised his sword up into the air until the point was facing the sky. Rosa had just enough time to think _well, this is a dumb way to die,_ before the sword fell quickly, blade pointed right between Rosa's eyes, which were now closed.

She waited for death to wrap its cold arms around her. She waited some more. She continued to wait. Finally, she opened her eyes to see what was taking so long for her to die.

The edge of Verde's sword was right in front of Rosa's face. Now there was confusion as well as bloodlust in Verde's eye.

"What's going on?" Verde swung the sword again, and Rosa flinched as it abruptly stopped right before her face. "Why can't I kill you?" Now there was nothing but frustration and rage in Verde's abnormally large emerald-green eye. "WHY! CAN'T! I! KILL YOU!" At each word, he swung his swords again, but each time he would just barely miss her. Rosa thought he had legitimately gone crazy (well, more crazy than he already was).

Suddenly, Verde froze, about to strike out again. He dropped his swords, which clattered to the ground noisily. He clutched his head, and growled, half in frustration, half in pain. "Verde, you bastard! You…you love this girl, don't you!" he yelled to seemingly no one in particular. "I can't go back in there! I can't kill anyone from the darkest recesses of your mind!" He cried out, then fell forward, breaking his fall with his hands.

Rosa quickly got to her feet and ran over to Verde, worried for him despite the situation. She got there, and saw beads of sweat forming on Verde's head.

"Verde, are you all right?" Rosa asked, barely holding back tears.

"Stay back!" he shouted, holding up his hand to ward her off. Rosa backed up a pace. He was breathing shallow and fast, as if he had just run a marathon.

"Verde what's going on?" she asked – no, demanded. "What happened just now…what was that?"

Verde looked up now. Rosa was surprised to see fear in Verde's eyes. "I just need you to go and check if he's still alive."

Rosa was confused. "You mean Rojo? Why would you care–"

"Please, Rosa. Just do it." It wasn't a demand, but a plea for help, and Rosa could hear that. She walked over to Rojo's body, grimacing as she was forced to step in a puddle of his blood. She grabbed his severely scarred hand, and pressed her fingers against his wrist.

"Well?" Verde asked.

Rosa hesitated before answering. "I don't know how, but he's still alive."

Verde laughed nervously. "I hope he is. I don't want any more needless death at...at _his_ hands. Star Warriors recover blood a bit faster than others, so he'll be fine. As for me…" He looked at Rosa then, and smiled nervously. "Well, conquering one's alternate personality does leave one rather drained." At that moment, Verde's eye rolled up in his head and he collapsed onto the ground, face first.

Rosa ran to his side, shouting his name, and felt for his pulse on his wrist. Her heart skipped a beat when she found it. There weren't words to describe how relieved Rosa felt that moment.

She realized something then. She was in the middle of nowhere with one man bleeding to death and the other unconscious. She was going to be hard-pressed to get them back to Castle Dedede. Before she could worry about it too much, however, she found that it was getting harder and harder to stay awake. She fell on her back, her vision quickly darkening. That Omnipresent Leaf Blades attack had drained more out of her than she had originally thought.

The last thing she saw before fainting from pure exhaustion was the indistinct figure of a winged circle in the sky


	7. Explanations and Interrogations

**Chapter 7: Explanations and Interrogations**

Verde woke up in a room with white walls, a white ceiling, and blinding lights.

Verde felt a sense of déja vu as he remembered that he had woken up in a room very similar to this on his first day in Castle Dedede. It was after he had attacked Meta Knight in a bar and lost. At the time he had been disoriented then because he was not expecting to be missing his right eye, which he had lost in that fight. He had told Meta Knight everything then, about how his parents were murdered, how he had in turn murdered one of the people who had killed them. He had told Meta Knight how this first death had caused him to develop that alter ego, Greenie the Terror, and how he became an outlaw. Meta Knight must have felt sorry for him then, because after hearing that story, Meta Knight had taken him in as his apprentice.

Now, here he was, on another hospital bed in another white room, barely remembering the events of the recent past. The last thing he could remember before falling unconscious was Rojo, that red bastard, standing over Rosa, about to end her. He had felt so much fury then, had wanted nothing more than to kill that Tomato-Head for trying to kill her. After that, he found that his memory was hazy. He remembered waking up from his sleep of fury to be standing over Rosa, his sword raised and about to strike. He had forced himself – no, he had forced Greenie – to stop right before it cleaved her in half. He remembered taking control of himself from Greenie, remembered feeling relief that he had not killed anyone while he had lost control, then fainted from mental exhaustion.

Then how did he get back here?

Just then the door opened to allow in Meta Knight. They made eye contact, and for a moment Verde's commanding officer, his mentor, the closest thing he had to a father, stood frozen in the doorway.

"Look, before you get mad at me for losing control, allow me to explain –"

Verde didn't say anymore, couldn't say anymore, since Meta Knight was now crushing him in a bear hug.

"Ow," Verde simply said.

Meta Knight quickly let him ago and asked frantically "Are you all right?"

Verde smiled inwardly. Not much could faze Meta Knight and knock him out of his perpetual grim and taciturn state. "Well, if I had bones, you probably would've broken them all from that hug, but other than that I'm fine."

Meta Knight breathed out as he saw that his pupil was indeed all right. "Thank goodness." Instantly, Meta Knight looked at him, his bright yellow eyes filled with fury. "THEN WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!"

Verde was now dimly aware of a constant ringing sound after that outburst. "Look, I can explain –"

"There is nothing to explain! You know you are not supposed to lose control of Greenie like that! Why do you think we trained you to hold him in for all those years?" Meta Knight was ranting, and nothing could stop him. When Meta Knight was angry, Verde noticed, his unidentifiable accent seemed to grow heavier and make his speech sound like a garbled mess for those who didn't know him well.

"Look, Lord Meta Knight, you said there was only one condition in which I could let Greenie take control."

"Of course I did! But wh –" Meta Knight stopped abruptly, a look of realization dawning on his face. "Ah, I see."

Verde felt the color rising to his cheeks. "Yeah, well, you don't have to make a big deal out of it or anything."

"Of course, Verde. I was in love once too you know," Meta Knight assured him.

Verde gave him that half-smile he always gave right before he was about to say something sarcastic. "Yeah, like a thousand years ago."

Meta Knight laughed. Had it been anyone else, he wouldn't have reacted, or he would have shown how annoyed he was. But over the years he had become accustomed to Verde's seemingly endless stream of sarcasm.

Verde's smile quickly faded and his eye grew wide. "That's right!" Now it was Verde's turn to suddenly grab Meta Knight. "Tell me Rosa and Rojo are okay!"

Meta Knight was shocked at this sudden mood change. "Rosa is just fine, she is just tired, nothing a good night's sleep cannot handle. As for this Rojo you speak of, I assume you mean that bloody mess we brought back here. As you know, Star Warriors recover blood quicker than other life forms. He will pull through."

Verde sat back against his bed. "Thank goodness," he said.

"Yes, this Rojo is going to be very helpful to us," Meta Knight explained. "We plan to question him as soon as he wakes up. Rosa already told us what happened, but she was knocked out for part of the battle, so I think it would be best to hear your side of the story as well."

Verde told him everything, from receiving "Rosa's" note to being attacked at the Valley of Lost Dreams, to waking up and seeing Rojo about to kill Rosa to waking up from Greenie's deadly little attack. Meta Knight nodded as Verde told him the story. "It's obvious that Rojo works for the Galacta Knight clan, but he doesn't seem very loyal to them. He may be able to tell us much about them."

"Lord Meta Knight, you keep mentioning this Galacta Knight clan, but I know barely anything about them. Why didn't you teach me anything about them?" Verde asked.

Meta Knight suddenly became grim again. "To be honest Verde, I did not teach you about the Galacta Knight clan because I had honestly thought they had died out. You see, many years ago I made a wish on the being known as Nova."

Verde remembered learning about Nova from Meta Knight. Nova was an immortal being, like a god. If one were to gather power from the Star Fountains scattered on the planets throughout the galaxy, one could get Nova to grant them one wish.

"I had wished to fight the strongest warrior in the galaxy, and Nova presented me with Galacta Knight, who was imprisoned for fear of his power," Meta Knight explained. "We fought to the death, and when I killed Galacta Knight, his clan didn't take too kindly to that. You see, they had worked for years to find a way to free him from his prison."

"Why couldn't they wish on Nova to try to free him?" Verde asked.

"Ah, if only it were that simple. You see, the people who had imprisoned Galacta Knight made Nova vow that he wouldn't grant a wish requesting his freedom. Nova agreed, but he is like a genie. Genies can be very literal and Nova is no exception. Since I did not directly mention Galacta Knight in my wish, Nova was able to work around his promise and free Galacta Knight for me to battle. So for a person not even from their clan to not only figure out a way to free their leader, but kill him as well that stung their pride a little."

Verde understood now. If someone had done something similar to Meta Knight, he would be furious. To imagine a world without the man who had taken him in and raised him like a son – no, best not think about it at all.

"But enough about old rivalries, I think you owe Rosa an explanation," Meta Knight said, snapping Verde back to reality.

"Me? What do I have to explain?" Verde asked.

Verde was sure Meta Knight was raising an eyebrow underneath his mask. "Oh, not much, just how you turned from a murderous psychopath to your normal self in an instant."

Verde looked down at the floor. "Yeah, I guess I should explain that. But not now."

"Whatever you say. But just remember, Verde. It is rude to keep a lady waiting." Meta Knight said, starting towards the door. However, as soon as he opened the door, Rosa walked in, pushing Meta Knight aside as she strode up to Verde's hospital bed defiantly. A mixture of relief and frustration dawned on her eyes as she saw that Verde was awake.

"You better start explaining what happened to you out there!" Rosa demanded. "Why were you a murderous psychopath all of a sudden?"

"I think I will leave you two to converse in peace," Meta Knight said, giving Verde a look that said _I told you so_ as he left, closing the door behind him. Rosa had either ignored Meta Knight or had not heard him.

"Well? I'm waiting!" Rosa said. Verde was getting more uncomfortable by the second. Verde swallowed his fear. After much hesitation, he finally began his tale.

* * *

Meta Knight opened the door at the end of the hall from Verde's room. Inside was Rojo Redstar, covered in bandages, laying on a hospital bed. A doctor Waddle Dee was removing some of the bandages carefully so as to not cause Rojo pain.

"I'm going to be honest with you Mr. Redstar," the doctor said. "You're lucky to be alive. Even though Star Warriors heal faster than most other people, you had lost enough blood to fill another person. You should've died."

"Your kind words are extremely helpful in my time of pain," said Rojo bitterly, wincing slightly as the doctor removed another bandage from his hand. He looked up from the doctor, noticing Meta Knight in the doorway. "And what do you want?"

"I have a feeling your superiors have trouble keeping you under control," Meta Knight said.

"What makes you say – OW!" Rojo cried, looking at the doctor, his eyes burning with fury. "Are you trying to kill me? I've had enough of that lately!"

"Well, Mr. Redstar," the doctor said, mildly annoyed, "if you would just stop moving so much, I might be able to cause you a little less pain."

"Doctor, if I may," Meta Knight said, "would you please leave us to speak alone?"

"With all due respect, Lord Meta Knight, someone needs to remove these bandages," the doctor said.

"Well, I am no doctor, but I believe I can remove bandages just as well as you," Meta Knight replied. The doctor looked at Meta Knight for a moment with slight embarrassment before he silently left the room. Meta Knight sat down in a chair next to Rojo. He reached for the end of one of the red man's many bandages, but Rojo immediately pulled away.

"Now, now, Mr. Redstar," said Meta Knight, "is that any way to treat the man who generously offered to help tend to your wounds?"

Rojo stared at Meta Knight blankly. Finally he held out his arm. "To tell you the truth," he said, "I would prefer to take the bandages off myself."

"I know that," Meta Knight replied. "I can tell you have issues with trust. I just needed an excuse to stay in here." He gently removed one of Rojo's bandages. Rojo didn't even flinch, Meta Knight noticed. He thought that maybe Rojo was just giving the doctor a hard time.

"And why do you want to stay in here? You probably guessed by now that I was sent here to kill you," Rojo stated matter-of-factly.

"Is that what your superiors told you?" questioned Meta Knight as he slowly removed another bandage.

"What do you mean?" Rojo asked, his voiced filled with indifference.

"I have no doubt that you are a skilled warrior," Meta Knight stated. "But I think that your superiors didn't think you were capable of killing me."

"Is that so?" Rojo remarked.

"Indeed. I believe your leader sent you here more as a statement than an assassination attempt."

Rojo gave no reply but silence.

"It would be a shame if word got out that a pair of apprentice knights had defeated a fully trained warrior."

Still more silence on Rojo's part.

"I was thinking about letting you go free. Dreamland's authorities would never bother you again unless you got in their way." Rojo's head perked up as Meta Knight gave his proposition. "We would even offer you protection against the Galacta Knight clan, because we both know they are not going to let this little slip up go by lightly. Of course, you would have to answer a few questions I have regarding your superiors."

Rojo immediately redirected his gaze to the wall in front of him. "I don't need your protection," he insisted. "I can take care of myself."

A hint of disappointment could be seen in Meta Knight's eyes. "It is a shame that you are not willing to answer our questions, Rojo. Because if you are not, we will have to execute you for assaulting not one, but two apprentice Meta-Knights without warning." He then forcefully ripped off one of Rojo's bandages, causing the red man to cry out in surprise and pain.

"You can get the rest yourself," Meta Knight said, with a hint of anger as he slammed the door behind him.

* * *

Rosa was quiet for a long time. Many unsettling thoughts went through Verde's mind as the silence persisted. He thought maybe she had been scared by his gruesome tale. Perhaps she had been frightened by the part when he had told her about the time he killed one of his parents' murderers. Or maybe she had been scared by when he had become a serial killer himself and when he had taken on the personality of Greenie the Terror.

"I…I can't believe it," Rosa finally said, braking the tense silence.

"I know you must be terrified of me now," Verde said quietly, staring at the floor.

"Terrified?" Rosa shouted, shocking Verde into looking at her sitting next to him on the hospital bed. He was surprised to see that her bright pink eyes were watery and filled with sadness. "Why would I be terrified? I…I…I think I'm sympathizing with you!"

Verde was confused by this statement. "What do you mean? How could you sympathize with a serial killer with so much blood on his hands?"

"I can't believe it! Have you forgotten? I lost my parents too! That did something to me too!" she yelled, voice cracking.

"Yeah, but you weren't turned into a monster by your experiences."

"You think that matters? When you lose someone, it doesn't matter what you do after that, you'll feel the same pain!" Rosa said. "Look, I know I didn't kill anyone because of my loss, but I…almost did."

"Wait, what? You almost killed someone?" Verde asked, disbelieving.

"Yeah," Rosa said, looking down at the floor. "It was some time after my parents left on their last mission. Meta Knight told me to face the fact that they would never come back. I said some things that I'm not proud of, then I ran away. Not just from Meta Knight, but from the whole castle. I ran into town and hid from the castle guards Meta Knight had sent after me. When I thought I lost them, I walked around town. Then, I was walking by this group of kids, and one of them talks about how much he hates his parents for being too strict and yelling at him for staying out too late. And then…well, I snapped."

Verde heard a strange dripping noise, and noticed with a shock that tears were freely flowing from Rosa's eyes. "I can't remember much of what had happened next, it was all kind of a blur. The first thing I can remember clearly was Meta Knight grabbing me and pulling me off of the kid's body. He – he wasn't moving. There were bruises and cuts all over his body. The other two kids were standing next to Meta Knight, staring at me like I was some kind of monster. And you know what? For just a minute, I was.

"For the longest time, I thought I was the only one who lashed out like that when I lost something close to me. Then I met you. Then I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time."

"What's that?" Verde asked.

"I didn't know at the time. But when I read that fake note in your apartment, I knew that I couldn't let something else close to me. I felt even worse because this time it was my fault."

"What? How could it be your fault?" Verde wanted to know.

"Think about it. If I hadn't gotten close to you, Rojo would never have been able to write that note. So, in a way, I'm the reason you were put in danger."

Verde thought about this for a minute. He eventually responded with "Rosa, when we become fully-fledged Meta-Knights, we won't have time for self-blaming. We're both probably going to get in a lot of danger, and sometimes it may very well be my fault or yours. But we can't feel sorry for ourselves because of that. And besides," Verde smiled at Rosa in spite of the situation, "I'm glad I met you. Because if I hadn't, you wouldn't have come to save my life."

Rosa smiled too, and wiped the tears from her face. "Yeah, that would suck."

"Glad to see you regard my life with some esteem." Verde said with sarcasm.

They both laughed, more so to break the ice than because of Verde's humor.

"Something tells me we're going to be great allies Verde," Rosa said.

Verde suddenly stopped smiling and assumed a very worried face. "That's all?"

Rosa laughed again. It was infectious, and Verde felt like laughing right along with her every time he heard it.

"No, Verde." She said. She kissed his cheek and Verde felt color rising to his face for the second time that day. "Much more than that."


	8. The Emerald Knight is Born

**Chapter 9: Every Ship Needs a Captain**

"I think it's time for your graduation presents." Meta Knight said.

They were in Meta Knight's room in the castle. It had been some time since the festivities for the two newest knights of Dreamland had ended. Most of the people who didn't live in the castle had gone home by now, save for a few stuck in a sleepy, drunken stupor on the ground of the Great Hall. Now, Meta Knight, Verde, and Rosa were sitting in Meta Knight's residence, enjoying hot cups of coffee.

Verde sat up at that. "You didn't tell us we were getting graduation presents!"

Meta Knight looked at him calmly. "If I told you, it would have ruined the surprise."

"So what? You'd still be giving me a present!"

Rosa laughed while Meta Knight gave one of his rare smiles. "Nice to see becoming a knight has not taken your sense of humor from you." Meta Knight got up and headed to his bedroom. When he came back, there were two somewhat sloppily wrapped presents, one in green wrapping paper and one in pink.

"So, do I get the pink one?" Verde asked.

"Very funny," Rosa said as their mentor handed them their respective gifts. "Did you wrap them yourself, Lord Meta Knight?"

"Well, Plasma Wisp helped. As you can see, he worked a bit too fast."

"Yeah, just a bit." Rosa said, noticing a stray piece of wrapping paper that had broken the loose hold of the tape haphazardly placed on the box.

"If you're done admiring the wrapping, I think it would be nice if you actually opened your gifts." Meta Knight said.

Verde had already begun tearing at the paper before Meta Knight had finished his sentence, but stopped himself.

"Ladies first," he said with an overly dramatic hand wave.

Rosa took the wrapping off gently, despite the fact that it was already torn in several places.

Inside the box was a katana, inside its scabbard. When she unsheathed the blade, Verde saw that the blade was beautifully crafted, the steel tinged pink.

"It's beautiful, my lord!" Rosa said with glee.

"The sword has yet to receive a name. I thought you would want to name it." Meta Knight said, obviously smiling underneath his mask.

"This is, wow, I don't know what to say!" Rosa said.

"Try starting with 'thank you,'" Verde said.

Everyone laughed at that. "Thank you, my lord. I'll treasure it, always."

"That's exactly what I want you to do," Meta Knight said. He turned to Verde. "Well, are you just going to sit there all night, or are you going to open yours?"

"Oh, of course! Sorry, my lord," Verde said. He tore off the rest of the paper. The box was rather small, and when Verde opened it, he didn't quite know what to think.

Inside the box were two plastic cards, one green and one pink. He took them out and inspected them. On one side was a name: "Verde the Star Warrior, captain." On the other was a barcode. The other card said "Rosa Stargazer, first mate."

"Captain? First mate? You make it sound like I'm a pirate or something," Verde said, handing Rosa the card key with her name on it.

"Actually, that's not too far from the truth," Meta Knight said, getting up as he spoke. "Follow me, I have something to show the both of you." He walked towards the door and opened it, gesturing for Rosa and Verde to go first. Verde turned to his girlfriend. She shrugged. Whatever it was Meta Knight wanted to show them, it must be big. Rosa placed her new katana on her hip and followed Verde as they both followed Meta Knight down the hall.

* * *

"How much farther?" Verde asked. They had been walking for what felt like hours. They were currently in the basement of the castle, walking down a very long hallway to an elevator.

"Just through that elevator," Meta Knight reassured him. "We had to make sure to leave it somewhere neither one of you would look. Considering how big it is, that was a very difficult task indeed."

"But what is it?" Rosa wanted to know

"You'll see," Meta Knight said. He seemed to be getting more and more excited as they walked down the hall. Verde was getting more and more curious. What was down that hall? A car? He didn't need a car, he could fly. A weapon? What kind of weapon was so big it required its own room?

"Here we are," Meta Knight said, knocking Verde out of his conversation with the voice in his head.

 _But I'm still talking to you,_ Verde thought.

No you're not, now shut up and pay attention!

Meta Knight pressed a button on the elevator and a loud buzzer could be heard. A few moments later, a familiar voice spoke through a speaker above the elevator.

"Who is it?" Plasma Wisp asked.

"It is Meta Knight. It is time to give them their present."

"Finally! I've been waiting for this for so long! You guys are gonna love it. I can't wait to see the looks on your faces –"

"Just let us in and stop rambling!"

"Right, right, sorry my lord. Going down!" Plasma Wisp said. Another buzzer sounded and the metal doors to the elevator opened.

"There's a basement to the basement?" Verde asked.

"You'd be surprised just how many rooms there are in this castle," Meta Knight said. They all walked into the elevator. The doors closed behind them. One of the walls was entirely made of glass, and Verde could see the stone wall on the other side beginning to pass them at greater and greater speeds as the elevator began to move.

Several minutes passed before Meta Knight said anything else. Verde could feel his heart beating faster and faster as the anticipation for what was in the basement's basement built up within him.

"We're almost there. Look out the window," Meta Knight said. Verde and Rosa turned to the window, and for a moment there was nothing but the same dark stone walls that had been there since they stepped in the elevator.

Then the walls disappeared and Verde gasped.

It was a gigantic chamber, bigger than the castle itself. Huge lights lit up the entire chamber, and the ceiling looked like it could open up to the outside.

But that wasn't the impressive part. What made Verde gasp was his present.

It was a battleship. A gigantic green battleship. There had to be dozens of cannons and turrets all over it. A particularly large cannon was in front of a huge tower at the back of the ship. A wooden platform in front of the cannon held almost a hundred people walking this way and that, shouting orders to each other as they checked on various parts of the ship. The figurehead at the very front of the ship was in the shape of Meta Knight's mask. A long laser cannon of some kind was mounted underneath the mask-shaped figurehead.

Verde was absolutely speechless. How do you respond to someone who gives you a freaking battleship as a graduation present?

"It took us several weeks to complete," Meta Knight said. "We call it the Emerald Halberd. You will use it to patrol Dreamland and the rest of Popstar to look for people in need."

"It's…it's…wow," was all Verde could say.

"Now, I must warn you, the Halberd Project has not exactly been a huge success in the past," Meta Knight told them.

"What do you mean?" Rosa asked.

"Let's just say that many people have tried and succeeded in bringing it down. I was even forced to bring it crashing into the ocean myself one time."

"Lord Meta Knight, I don't know what to say," Verde said.

"You could start by thanking him," Rosa said.

Verde frowned even as Meta Knight chuckled. It was one thing to make sarcastic comments. It was another thing entirely to have them used against you. Then he smiled. He should be grateful that Meta Knight had given him something so huge.

"Thank you, so much my lord!" Verde said, giving him a huge hug. Meta Knight awkwardly patted him on the back. Despite his huggable appearance, Meta Knight had rarely been hugged before.

"Technically, you should both be thanking me. I'm giving it to both of you."

Rosa gave him a funny look. "Why would you do that?"

"Would you trust this psychopath with a battleship all to himself?" Meta Knight asked. "He needs someone to control his destructive tendencies."

"Point made," Rosa said.

"Speaking of which," Meta Knight said, "Verde, Rosa, I can only give this to you on one condition. You need an advisor, someone to go with you to help you make tough decisions."

"You mean you won't be coming with us?" Verde asked.

"No. I need to stay here and make sure His Majesty doesn't act out of line," Meta Knight said. "We wouldn't want him stealing all the food in Dreamland again."

Verde smiled at that. He had heard the story many times from Meta Knight. In his early years, King Dedede was very selfish and even hungrier than he is now. Both Meta Knight and Kirby were forced to keep him in line at some points.

"Besides," Meta Knight said, "I'm getting tired of patrolling Dreamland myself."

Verde began thinking to himself for a moment. He would need someone with a lot of experience. Someone that was good in battle and perhaps someone powerful enough to work with Rosa to stop him should Greenie the Terror ever make him lose control again. Someone like…

Verde suddenly looked up at Meta Knight. "Lord Meta Knight, I think I know who my advisor will be."

Meta Knight gave him a look. "So soon? You should probably think this through."

"No, I've made up my mind. I know who it'll be. But you're not going to like it."

"Well, who is it?" Rosa and Meta Knight asked.


	9. Every Ship Needs a Captain

**Chapter 9: Every Ship Needs a Captain**

"I think it's time for your graduation presents." Meta Knight said.

They were in Meta Knight's room in the castle. It had been some time since the festivities for the two newest knights of Dreamland had ended. Most of the people who didn't live in the castle had gone home by now, save for a few stuck in a sleepy, drunken stupor on the ground of the Great Hall. Now, Meta Knight, Verde, and Rosa were sitting in Meta Knight's residence, enjoying hot cups of coffee.

Verde sat up at that. "You didn't tell us we were getting graduation presents!"

Meta Knight looked at him calmly. "If I told you, it would have ruined the surprise."

"So what? You'd still be giving me a present!"

Rosa laughed while Meta Knight gave one of his rare smiles. "Nice to see becoming a knight has not taken your sense of humor from you." Meta Knight got up and headed to his bedroom. When he came back, there were two somewhat sloppily wrapped presents, one in green wrapping paper and one in pink.

"So, do I get the pink one?" Verde asked.

"Very funny," Rosa said as their mentor handed them their respective gifts. "Did you wrap them yourself, Lord Meta Knight?"

"Well, Plasma Wisp helped. As you can see, he worked a bit too fast."

"Yeah, just a bit." Rosa said, noticing a stray piece of wrapping paper that had broken the loose hold of the tape haphazardly placed on the box.

"If you're done admiring the wrapping, I think it would be nice if you actually opened your gifts." Meta Knight said.

Verde had already begun tearing at the paper before Meta Knight had finished his sentence, but stopped himself.

"Ladies first," he said with an overly dramatic hand wave.

Rosa took the wrapping off gently, despite the fact that it was already torn in several places.

Inside the box was a katana, inside its scabbard. When she unsheathed the blade, Verde saw that the blade was beautifully crafted, the steel tinged pink.

"It's beautiful, my lord!" Rosa said with glee.

"The sword has yet to receive a name. I thought you would want to name it." Meta Knight said, obviously smiling underneath his mask.

"This is, wow, I don't know what to say!" Rosa said.

"Try starting with 'thank you,'" Verde said.

Everyone laughed at that. "Thank you, my lord. I'll treasure it, always."

"That's exactly what I want you to do," Meta Knight said. He turned to Verde. "Well, are you just going to sit there all night, or are you going to open yours?"

"Oh, of course! Sorry, my lord," Verde said. He tore off the rest of the paper. The box was rather small, and when Verde opened it, he didn't quite know what to think.

Inside the box were two plastic cards, one green and one pink. He took them out and inspected them. On one side was a name: "Verde the Star Warrior, captain." On the other was a barcode. The other card said "Rosa Stargazer, first mate."

"Captain? First mate? You make it sound like I'm a pirate or something," Verde said, handing Rosa the card key with her name on it.

"Actually, that's not too far from the truth," Meta Knight said, getting up as he spoke. "Follow me, I have something to show the both of you." He walked towards the door and opened it, gesturing for Rosa and Verde to go first. Verde turned to his girlfriend. She shrugged. Whatever it was Meta Knight wanted to show them, it must be big. Rosa placed her new katana on her hip and followed Verde as they both followed Meta Knight down the hall.

* * *

"How much farther?" Verde asked. They had been walking for what felt like hours. They were currently in the basement of the castle, walking down a very long hallway to an elevator.

"Just through that elevator," Meta Knight reassured him. "We had to make sure to leave it somewhere neither one of you would look. Considering how big it is, that was a very difficult task indeed."

"But what is it?" Rosa wanted to know

"You'll see," Meta Knight said. He seemed to be getting more and more excited as they walked down the hall. Verde was getting more and more curious. What was down that hall? A car? He didn't need a car, he could fly. A weapon? What kind of weapon was so big it required its own room?

"Here we are," Meta Knight said, knocking Verde out of his conversation with the voice in his head.

 _But I'm still talking to you,_ Verde thought.

No you're not, now shut up and pay attention!

Meta Knight pressed a button on the elevator and a loud buzzer could be heard. A few moments later, a familiar voice spoke through a speaker above the elevator.

"Who is it?" Plasma Wisp asked.

"It is Meta Knight. It is time to give them their present."

"Finally! I've been waiting for this for so long! You guys are gonna love it. I can't wait to see the looks on your faces –"

"Just let us in and stop rambling!"

"Right, right, sorry my lord. Going down!" Plasma Wisp said. Another buzzer sounded and the metal doors to the elevator opened.

"There's a basement to the basement?" Verde asked.

"You'd be surprised just how many rooms there are in this castle," Meta Knight said. They all walked into the elevator. The doors closed behind them. One of the walls was entirely made of glass, and Verde could see the stone wall on the other side beginning to pass them at greater and greater speeds as the elevator began to move.

Several minutes passed before Meta Knight said anything else. Verde could feel his heart beating faster and faster as the anticipation for what was in the basement's basement built up within him.

"We're almost there. Look out the window," Meta Knight said. Verde and Rosa turned to the window, and for a moment there was nothing but the same dark stone walls that had been there since they stepped in the elevator.

Then the walls disappeared and Verde gasped.

It was a gigantic chamber, bigger than the castle itself. Huge lights lit up the entire chamber, and the ceiling looked like it could open up to the outside.

But that wasn't the impressive part. What made Verde gasp was his present.

It was a battleship. A gigantic green battleship. There had to be dozens of cannons and turrets all over it. A particularly large cannon was in front of a huge tower at the back of the ship. A wooden platform in front of the cannon held almost a hundred people walking this way and that, shouting orders to each other as they checked on various parts of the ship. The figurehead at the very front of the ship was in the shape of Meta Knight's mask. A long laser cannon of some kind was mounted underneath the mask-shaped figurehead.

Verde was absolutely speechless. How do you respond to someone who gives you a freaking battleship as a graduation present?

"It took us several weeks to complete," Meta Knight said. "We call it the Emerald Halberd. You will use it to patrol Dreamland and the rest of Popstar to look for people in need."

"It's…it's…wow," was all Verde could say.

"Now, I must warn you, the Halberd Project has not exactly been a huge success in the past," Meta Knight told them.

"What do you mean?" Rosa asked.

"Let's just say that many people have tried and succeeded in bringing it down. I was even forced to bring it crashing into the ocean myself one time."

"Lord Meta Knight, I don't know what to say," Verde said.

"You could start by thanking him," Rosa said.

Verde frowned even as Meta Knight chuckled. It was one thing to make sarcastic comments. It was another thing entirely to have them used against you. Then he smiled. He should be grateful that Meta Knight had given him something so huge.

"Thank you, so much my lord!" Verde said, giving him a huge hug. Meta Knight awkwardly patted him on the back. Despite his huggable appearance, Meta Knight had rarely been hugged before.

"Technically, you should both be thanking me. I'm giving it to both of you."

Rosa gave him a funny look. "Why would you do that?"

"Would you trust this psychopath with a battleship all to himself?" Meta Knight asked. "He needs someone to control his destructive tendencies."

"Point made," Rosa said.

"Speaking of which," Meta Knight said, "Verde, Rosa, I can only give this to you on one condition. You need an advisor, someone to go with you to help you make tough decisions."

"You mean you won't be coming with us?" Verde asked.

"No. I need to stay here and make sure His Majesty doesn't act out of line," Meta Knight said. "We wouldn't want him stealing all the food in Dreamland again."

Verde smiled at that. He had heard the story many times from Meta Knight. In his early years, King Dedede was very selfish and even hungrier than he is now. Both Meta Knight and Kirby were forced to keep him in line at some points.

"Besides," Meta Knight said, "I'm getting tired of patrolling Dreamland myself."

Verde began thinking to himself for a moment. He would need someone with a lot of experience. Someone that was good in battle and perhaps someone powerful enough to work with Rosa to stop him should Greenie the Terror ever make him lose control again. Someone like…

Verde suddenly looked up at Meta Knight. "Lord Meta Knight, I think I know who my advisor will be."

Meta Knight gave him a look. "So soon? You should probably think this through."

"No, I've made up my mind. I know who it'll be. But you're not going to like it."

"Well, who is it?" Rosa and Meta Knight asked.


	10. A Very Bad Idea

**Chapter 10: A Very Bad Idea**

Rojo restarted counting the bottles of beer on the wall for perhaps the twentieth time.

If they were going to kill him, why won't they just get it over with already? He clearly had nothing to tell them. Were they punishing him somehow? Was he to be forced to spend the rest of his days sitting here, chained to this desk, bored out of his mind?

He heard the door to his cell opening. He looked up. At first, he thought it was that fool Meta Knight, come back to pester him with questions again. But no, despite the fact that their masks were the same, this was not Meta Knight.

Worse, it was that idiot Verde and his girlfriend.

"Hi there!" Verde said cheerfully, a smile reaching his eye as he waved. Rosa, Rojo noted, did not share Verde's cheerfulness. In fact, she seemed downright angry.

"Mind if we sit down?" Verde asked, gesturing to the chairs on the other side of the desk. Rojo did not say anything. He was the one being imprisoned here, and this idiot had the audacity to ask him permission to sit down?

"I'll take that as a yes," Verde said. He plopped himself down on the chair. Rosa perched on the edge of her chair, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

"Nice place you got here," Verde remarked. "As far as jail cells go, this is pretty okay."

There were cracks on the wall where insects were crawling in. Rojo's hands were shackled so close to the table that he was unable to scratch an itch he'd been having for the past week.

"How would you know?" Rojo asked angrily. "How would a goody two-shoes working for Meta Knight ever find himself in a jail cell?"

"Have you forgotten already that I'm technically a wanted criminal?" Verde asked.

Rojo shivered involuntarily. He would take the memory of that maniac's smile and hungry look in his eye to the grave. He was scared of Greenie, and he had the scars to prove it.

"Why don't you just get these questions over with already," Rojo said. His voice seemed to be perpetually stuck in that angry growl, Verde noticed. "I don't know why those fools think that I'm going to open up to the guy who almost murdered me and his girlfriend, but it won't work."

Verde continued to smile, which only further irritated Rojo. Does this guy ever stop being cheerful?

"No worries, Tomato Head. I'm not here to ask you questions," Verde said. "Just here to make an offer."

Rojo said nothing. Anything this guy had to offer him was nothing he would want. Yet the would-be assassin was still intrigued.

"What if I told you I could get you out of here, no questions asked?" Verde asked him.

Rojo still maintained his silence.

"Look, unlike my friends behind the fake mirror over there," Verde said, pointing his thumb at the one-way glass window, "I don't have delusions that there's a slight chance of the possibility that you might know something somewhat useful. I know perfectly well that if there's anything useful you could have told my friends that you would have told them already."

"What makes you think that?" Rojo asked.

"You said it yourself. You have no loyalty to the Galacta Knights. You were just in it for the money. I think your leader would have the brains to know not to tell you important information like that."

"So why are you still wasting time on me?" Rojo asked.

"As I said, I'm here to offer you your freedom."

"Not interested."

"Quite stubborn, aren't you?" Verde asked. "Perhaps if I elaborate on my deal more, you might be willing to consider it.

"I am willing to drop all charges on you and let you go free. No one would bother you with questions about your clan again. And you would be under my protection."

"Why should I believe you?" Rojo asked. "What's to stop you from freeing me, then abandoning me in the middle of nowhere to die?"

"Because I'm not like that," Verde insisted. "I don't toy with people's emotions because it pleases me."

Rojo leaned forward so that his and Verde's faces were mere inches apart. "Look at me in the eyes right now, Pea Brain. You may think that everyone you meet is totally trustworthy. You may think that they have your back. But learn this now before you get hurt. Everyone lies. Even the people closest to you. They will betray you without a second's thought if they see something to gain from it. They may be your friends now, but the next thing you know they're stabbing you in the back. One day you're going to pay because someone you put your trust in is going to leave you for dead. Don't let that happen. Trust no one. Trust only yourself and the money in your wallet."

At the last word, Rojo leaned back in his chair, satisfied that he made his point. For a few moments, no one said anything as Verde took in what Rojo said.

"I know that you will be protected because I will do it personally," Verde said. "If you agree to go free, you will work for me."

Rojo's head shot up at that. "And what makes you think that I won't betray you? Or, what makes you think I even want to work for you?"

"I'll answer the last question first," Verde responded. "I will offer you a very…generous salary. It's about half my own pay."

Now Rojo was intrigued. "And what exactly is half your salary?" he wanted to know.

Verde told him what half his salary equaled. Rojo's eyes widened. "You can't be serious."

"Actually, I can," Verde said. "I'm just not that fond of being serious. No worries, it's a common misconception."

"Not the time or place, Verde," Rosa said, annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, I take it from your response that you're interested?" Verde asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm interested," Rojo said. "But that still doesn't answer my first question."

Verde drew breath to answer, but Rosa suddenly jumped up and slammed her hands on the table. Rojo and Verde jumped in their seats, visibly startled.

"You know how I know you won't betray Verde?" Rosa threatened. "Because if you do, if you stab him in the back and vanish into the night, know that I will never stop hunting you. No matter where you go, I will find you and I will make you pay for hurting him. Look into my eyes and tell me if I'm being serious."

Rojo was looking into her eyes. Her bright pink eyes seemed to glow from behind her mask with a dangerous light, and there wasn't a trace of humor in them. Rojo knew then that if he tried to do anything suspicious, that this woman would make his life a living hell.

"Y-yeah, you're serious," Rojo said. He was feeling something then, something that made his heart race and his body tremble.

It was fear.

"Well, now that we got the niceties and the details out of the way, I think it's time we heard your decision Mr. Redstar," Verde said. "So, will you work for me to keep peace in Dreamland and all that stuff?"

Rojo thought for a moment. He could endure another week or so of these endless questions until Meta Knight finally decided to get rid of him for good. Or he could spend the rest of his days working for this annoying fool and his terrifying girlfriend for an acceptable pay rate.

All in all, it was an obvious choice.

"Will I at least be able to move out of this cell?" Rojo asked.

Verde's eyes brightened even further, somehow. "So that means you'll take the job?"

"Don't see any other way out of this."

Verde cheered then, jumping out of his seat and giving Rosa a huge hug, knocking the breath right out of her. "Rosa, my dear, we have a battleship!"

Rojo was confused, to say the least. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Verde let go of Rosa and knocked on the door. A few moments later, someone on the other side opened it. After a little conversation, a Waddle Dee walked in and unlocked Rojo's handcuffs. The red man rubbed his sore wrists in a futile effort to get them to stop hurting.

Verde reached underneath his mask and pulled out a red card key. On one side was a barcode, on the other was a single phrase: "Rojo Redstar, other first mate."

"What's this for?" Rojo asked.

"That, my friend, is the key to your new home!" Verde shouted excitedly. "The finest battleship in Dreamland: The Emerald Halberd!"

Rojo looked at the card key. If Verde had already made him a key to his new home, then he must have assumed that Rojo would have accepted his offer. He had placed a lot of faith in Rojo that he would be a loyal ally.

Rojo stood by his earlier statement that this unyielding faith in others was going to get the Emerald Knight killed.

* * *

"You're making a big mistake, Verde," Meta Knight said.

They, along with Rojo and Rosa, were walking down the hallway to the elevator that would take them to the Emerald Halberd.

"I still say that I can bring him over to our side, my lord," Verde replied.

"I still say that you're going to get yourself killed."

"Funny thing, Rojo said the same thing when I told him my idea. That's how I know that he won't betray me. What kind of idiot gives away his plans to kill someone to his target?"

"What makes you think you can trust him?" Meta Knight wanted to know.

"It's not a matter of me trusting him, my lord," Verde said. "It's a matter of him trusting us."

"I'm afraid I don't follow," Meta Knight said skeptically.

"If I can gain Rojo's trust, then he won't want to betray me, and he'll become a powerful ally to boot," Verde explained

"I hope you are right," Meta Knight said. "Because if you aren't, you're going to die."

"I am well aware of that, my lord," Verde said. "But I'm a knight now. Every day, there is the possibility that I am going to die."

Meta Knight had no answer for that.

They had reached the elevator now, and Meta Knight pressed the down button.

"Who is it?" Plasma Wisp's voice said over the loudspeaker.

"It is Meta Knight again. I have Redstar with me."

"Good! Tell him we have his weapons down here, so he doesn't have to worry about them. We've been taking good care of them, cleaning them, polishing them –"

"Plasma Wisp!" Meta Knight shouted.

"Right, my lord, sorry." The elevator doors opened and they all walked inside.

No one said anything on the way down. Rosa and Meta Knight glared daggers at Rojo. He glared daggers back. Verde shifted uncomfortably. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Maybe with one of the daggers everyone was glaring with.

Finally, the dark stone walls disappeared and the Emerald Halberd came into view. It was just as impressive as last time.

Rojo gave a low whistle. "That's where I'll be staying the rest of my life?"

"Go big or go home, am I right?" Verde asked.

"I'll say," Rojo said.

A few minutes later they were at the bottom. The glass wall opened and they stepped outside. A bright green light could be seen racing towards them. It stopped just short of crashing into them.

"Hey guys! Good to see you!" Plasma Wisp said.

"Good to see you too, buddy," Verde said, giving his friend a high five.

"So, excited for the maiden voyage of the Emerald Halberd?" the hyperactive fireball asked.

"Excited isn't a strong enough word to describe how I feel about this battleship. I mean, you guys really went all out didn't you?"

"Only the best for the two best friends a guy could ask for," Plasma Wisp said happily. Even without a mouth, his eyes could bend upward in a smile.

"So, if you're done catching up with the sentient floating fireball, can we please see where I'll be living for the rest of my life?" Rojo asked.

"Look, buddy, I'm plasma, not fire. Huge difference," Plasma Wisp said, annoyed. With that he flew off back to the deck of the ship. Meta Knight and Rosa sprouted their wings and flew off after him. Rojo threw his hands up angrily.

"No fair! I can't fly, my cape's on the ship!" Rojo shouted.

Verde also sprouted his wings and held out his hand. "I got you, just take my hand."

Rojo put his hands down, then looked at Verde's hands. "I think it's a bit early in our relationship for hand-holding," Rojo said bitterly.

Verde laughed. "I like your sense of humor, even if your brand of sarcasm is a bit more bitter than mine. Why don't we go see what the others are up to."

Rojo hesitated for a moment, then he took Verde's hand.

"Hang on tight," Verde said.

And with that, they flew onto the Emerald Halberd.


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The Waddle Dee soldier rushed into his leader's room. His heart was racing, but not just because he was short of breath from running. He was about to give bad news to the leader of the Galacta Knight clan.

No one liked giving bad news to the leader of the Galacta Knight clan.

The Waddle Dee stopped right in front of a very ornate chair, almost like a throne. It was facing the back of the room so that the Waddle Dee could not see his leader sitting in the throne.

"My lord, I bring terrible news," the Waddle Dee said.

He heard a sighing noise from the chair. "What is it?" said a deep, exasperated voice.

"I-it's Redstar, my lord. He has failed in his mission to bring down Verde the Star Warrior," the Waddle Dee said nervously.

"As I expected. I knew that after all these years, Meta Knight had trained him well," the voice replied.

"Y-yes, my lord. B-but there's more."

Another exasperated sigh. "Go on."

The Waddle Dee swallowed nervously. Here comes the real bad news.

"According to a message sent by the wizard Magalor, Rojo has joined the Meta-Knights."

There was a moment of unbearable silence. "This is unprecedented," was all the voice said.

"H-he also said that a great big battleship was launched into the skies of Dreamland yesterday. It was being commandeered by Verde."

At first the Waddle Dee's leader said nothing. Then the throne turned around. A huge clanking noise could be heard as the Galacta-Knights' leader got up and walked slowly towards the messenger. He stopped just in front of the messenger.

"L-lord LeGris, what will we do?"

Piercing grey eyes, empty of emotion, stared down at the Waddle Dee soldier.

"I think it's time we showed those fools the punishment for treason."

LeGris raised his hand and threw it down on the Waddle Dee soldier. There was a brief flash of pain, and then the messenger felt nothing.


End file.
